


God’s Lonely Man

by fangs_for_the_memories



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Fluff, Minor Injuries, Minor Violence, sheriff au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-25
Updated: 2016-01-29
Packaged: 2018-05-09 07:52:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 50,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5531621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangs_for_the_memories/pseuds/fangs_for_the_memories
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Laura Hollis finds herself in a forest, burying the body of the man who attacks her one night, the last thing she expects to find is a mysterious girl doing the same thing.  Especially when she's the daughter of the sheriff and the other girl has ties to a local crime lord...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Funny Meeting You Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laura bumps into a mysterious girl while burying a body in a forest. Neither of which was in her plans for that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's the AU I've been working on! Originally based on [ this post](http://imagineyuorotp.tumblr.com/post/43982919041/imagine-your-otp-meeting-each-other-for-the-first) and then it just kept going... I actually started it before [Childcare](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4163019), but that was so much more fun to write that I stuck this on the back burner for a while.  
> Part two of nine of my Holiday Fanfic Bomb 2015! I'll be posting nine updates today to three different fics :D  
> The fic's almost done now, and according to a random poll I did one night, there were calls for updates to happen all at once / every hour / every other day.  
> ...Which I decided to combine all into one. You'll be getting two updates all at once, then a few hourly. And then the seventh update will happen in a couple days :D  
> Hope you guys enjoy the ride!

“Great job, Hollis,” Laura murmurs to herself. “This is _totally_ what I want to be doing on a Sunday night.”

She blows a strand of hair out of her face.

“Burying a body, like a regular college student, after being attacked in my own home. Awesome. Just… _wonderful_.”

The body is much bigger than her petite 5’2 frame and she’s unceremoniously dragging him through the forest. A part of her wants to feel guilty about the lack of respect she’s giving the poor guy, but a larger part of her is thinking _he deserves it_.

She figures she’s far enough into the forest that she can start figuring out a way to hide the body. She brought a shovel in her car, but the amount of dread she feels at the prospect of having to walk all the way back to it while leaving the body unattended is overwhelming.

 

Laura lets the body slip out of her hands and kicks some dirt aside in annoyance. Her ears perk up when she hears the dirt fall _down_ something–– like a hole. She walks over and sees that there _is_ a hole in the ground, several feet deep.

_What?_

Deciding not to question it, she returns to the body, grabs it, and drops it into the hole.

 

“What the creeping hell are you doing?” a voice growls out behind her. Laura’s blood runs cold and she slowly turns, looking at a leather-clad girl not much bigger than she is. She’s also _probably_ one of the most gorgeous people she’s ever met, even while angry.

“Uh…”

The girl crosses her arms and looks her over. “Well?”

“I… uh…” Laura swallows hard. “Well, what’s it _look_ like I’m doing?”

“It looks like you’re dropping a body into a hole _I_ took the time to dig up for _my_ body,” she answers, smirking.

Laura furrows her brows in confusion. “What?”

The other girl sighs and bends down, lifting a body off the ground. The man is about the same height and build as Laura’s victim. “That hole was for this oaf, cutie,” she says, bringing him over. “And you’ve just stumbled on by and dropped your own body into it. A bit rude, don’t you think?”

 

“W-Wait,” Laura sputters out. “You _also_ killed someone and you’re _also_ burying them?”

The girl shrugs. “I guess all the cool kids are doing it.”

She peers down into the ground and pauses when she sees the other body. A look flashes across her face quickly before she sighs.

“Well, I guess both of our bodies can fit in there.” The second body gets abruptly dropped into the hole. “But you’re gonna be the one refilling the hole.”

Laura gapes at her as she’s handed a shovel.

A few moments pass as the hole starts to fill up. “I’m Laura,” she says quietly.

The other girl raises an eyebrow. “Carmilla.”

 

Laura finishes with the hole and hands Carmilla the shovel back.

“So, what’s an adorable little cupcake like you doing out on a Sunday night burying a corpse?” Carmilla asks as she walks away from the covered hole.

Laura narrows her eyes at her and follows. “I could ask you the same thing.”

Carmilla smirks. “You’re spunky.”

“Yeah, I’m a badass also capable of murder, apparently, so don’t push it,” Laura says back lightly, bumping shoulders with Carmilla, who chuckles.

They walk in silence for a bit.

 

“Did you park your car along the main road?” Carmilla asks.

Laura scoffs. “How stupid do you think I am? There’s a small clearing in the woods. I parked it there.”

Carmilla holds up her hands in surrender. “I don’t know these parts, buttercup.”

“Don’t tell me you parked on the road…?”

“No.” Carmilla points into the distance. “I left my car over there in a clearing, too.”

“Hmm.”

“What?”

Laura sighs. “Well, it’s just… if it’s the area I’m thinking of, it’s a muddy area.”

“So?”

They reach Carmilla’s car, and her shoulder’s sag when she sees what Laura is alluding to.

“So… your car might be stuck in the mud,” Laura finishes quietly.

 

Carmilla jumps into the driver’s seat and starts the car, but the tires spin loudly, not budging.

“Shit!” Carmilla curses, slamming her hands on the steering wheel.

Laura gently taps on the window, still holding the shovel.

Carmilla opens the door, almost hitting Laura in the process. “What?” she snaps. “And don’t even suggest me calling for a tow. That’s just a bad idea waiting to happen when there’s two bodies buried not far from here.”

Laura shakes her head. “Uhm, well… There’s supposed to be a storm later tonight,” Laura begins. “And usually when that happens, this area gets washed out, so it might free up your car from the mud.”

“You’re saying I should wait out here all night for the storm to pass?”

Laura nods and takes a deep breath. “If you want, I can give you a lift back to your place?”

 

Carmilla raises an eyebrow.

“I figure… It’s the least I can do for throwing my corpse into a hole you dug for yours,” Laura explains, realizing how bizarre the statement sounds.

Carmilla sighs and shrugs. “Fine.”

Laura gives her a halfhearted smile and leads Carmilla towards where she parked her car.

“It was self-defense,” Laura says softly, almost inaudibly.

Carmilla looks over and finds that Laura’s crying a bit.

 _I figured_. “If it was self-defense, then you’ve got nothing to cry over, sweetheart.”

A watery laugh escapes Laura’s mouth. “Carmilla, I _killed a man_.”

“Who tried to kill you, right? That makes it a-okay in my book.”

“Then clearly we’re reading from two different books,” Laura comments, but there’s no edge in her voice.

 

They reach her car and Laura places the shovel in the trunk.

Laura sighs and wipes her muddy hands on her pants, which is already covered in dirt. The drive starts off silent for a few minutes other than Carmilla giving directions, until Laura turns on the radio.

“You don’t feel bad about killing your guy?” Laura asks gently.

Carmilla crosses her arms and remains silent.

“Right. Sorry. Didn’t mean to pry.” She laughs dryly. “Journalism major, so it’s kind of a habit.”

Carmilla clenches her jaw. “Yeah, I feel bad,” she answers. “But it was either me or him, so…”

Laura nods. “Okay.”

 

 _Smooth Criminal_ starts playing and Laura jumps and changes the station, making Carmilla laugh.

She goes to the classic rock station and groans when _Janie’s Got A Gun_ comes on.

“What’s the matter? You got something against Steven Tyler?”

Laura side-eyes her. “You suck.”

Carmilla shrugs. “Not the first time I’ve heard that.”

“It’s like you _want_ me to kick you out of this car,” Laura snaps playfully.

Carmilla mocks being extremely offended and Laura laughs.

 

They pull up to a small house. Carmilla glances over at Laura. “Thanks for the ride.”

Laura smiles. “Thanks for being an accessory to murder,” she jokes. “Or at least, in covering it up.”

Carmilla chuckles and opens the car door. “Any time.” She gets out of the car and closes the door. “Drive home safely, hon.”

Laura waves and pulls away, and Carmilla lets out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding.

 

But honestly, what are the chances someone else would be burying a body the same night she was?

Especially when she was burying the body of a _cop_? To be fair, the cop _had_ attacked her. But killing a cop was _still_ killing a cop.

 _Mother won’t be happy about this_ …

And what are the chances that the other person burying a body would be burying the body of someone _she_ _knew_? Granted, it was just some random thug her mother had hired to have around as extra muscle, but the fact that he had apparently attacked this _Laura_ didn’t rest easy with her.

Carmilla lets out another long exhale and goes back into her house, trying to shake the thoughts from her mind.

 

After all, that Laura had been a cute, fiery little thing, hadn’t she? What kind of girl kills a man, buries him, and doesn’t totally freak out?

 _Other than me, of course_.

Plus she was pretty sure Laura’s laugh could light up an entire city.

Carmilla heads straight to bed, fully intending to pass out for the night and sleep through her classes tomorrow, as per usual.

The storm Laura mentioned earlier starts, the rain pouring down, accompanied with streaks of lightning and crashes of thunder.

Carmilla hopes Laura made it home safely.


	2. Have Some Class

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following the events of the previous night, Laura finds out a little more about Carmilla.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part three of nine of my Holiday Fanfic Bomb 2015! I'll be posting nine updates today to three different fics :)  
> Next update for this fic will pop up in an hour or so LOL

Laura sits in class, twirling her pen, waiting for class to start. She usually listens with half her mind present in the class, jotting down the occasional note, since it’s just a philosophy class she has to take to make the requirements for graduation.

She showed up to the room so early that the previous class was still in there. It’s not like she’s normally tardy, but she had so many problems sleeping that she just figured she might as well just head out of the house.

It didn’t help that that girl, Carmilla, had left her damn shovel in the back of her car. The storm was still raging on when she left the house, and it hadn’t surprised her when her dad called during the drive over–– probably to see if she was okay.

She’d ignored the call and then texted him when she got to class that she was safe. There was a voicemail, but she didn’t feel like dealing with hearing the paranoid rambling message.

Laura’s mind drifts back to Carmilla. For a murderer, she didn’t seem so bad–– slightly snippy and broody, but it felt like there was something safe and warm about her. After all, she had let Laura share the grave, right? And there didn’t seem to be any danger of Carmilla turning her in…

It isn’t until she feels a tap on her shoulder that she’s drawn out of her thoughts.

 

“Well, hello, cutie,” a familiar voice purrs into her ear.

Laura jumps.

“Relax, it’s just me,” Carmilla says, amused. “No reason for all of this… twitchiness.”

Laura scoffs as Carmilla sits in the seat next to her. “There is no twitching. There is an absence of twitching.”

“Mmhmm,” Carmilla hums, unconvinced.

Laura rolls her eyes. “Why are you sitting here, anyway?”

“I figured I should go to class at least once this semester,” Carmilla drawls.

The professor walks in and actually does a double take at seeing Carmilla, not just in the classroom, but _early_. “Hello, Miss Karnstein,” he says dryly. “Nice to see you present for once.”

Carmilla throws him a “rock on” sign and smirks when he sighs and makes his way to the front.

 

Laura’s mouth hangs open slightly. “You’re in this class? Why are you never in class?”

“My mom is a… How shall I put this… A member of the board for the university,” Carmilla says. “The professors in my major department are _highly_ encouraged to not fail me.”

Laura raises an eyebrow. “Then why are you here now?”

“Couldn’t sleep.” Carmilla shifts closer to Laura. “Burying bodies kinda makes you wired, you know what I mean, creampuff?”

Laura swallows hard, trying to ignore the fact that she can feel Carmilla’s breath on her.

“I have _no_ idea what you mean,” Laura insists, causing Carmilla to snort.

 

The professor begins the lecture, talking about Panoptes from Greek mythology.

“Did you get your car yet?” Laura asks, doodling on her page.

Carmilla shakes her head. “It’s pouring out there, cutie. I don’t know if you realized it, but I just happen to live like two minutes from this lecture hall.”

“I could drive you after class if you want,” Laura offers.

Carmilla quirks an eyebrow. “Why?”

“To be nice?” Laura responds, chuckling. “This is my only class today.”

 

The professor clears his throat. “Oh, I’m sorry, Miss Hollis, am I interrupting you?”

“Yes. Yes, you are,” Carmilla replies dryly.

Laura kicks her under their table. “Sorry, professor,” Laura says.

“Can you tell us what Jeremy Bentham theorized, Miss Hollis?” the professor asks stiffly.

“Uh…”

“He thought that if you built a prison a certain way, with a guard tower stationed with the perfect vantage point for every inmate cell, the inmates would automatically self-regulate their own behavior constantly, even though they don’t actually know if they’re being observed,” Carmilla answers. She gives the professor a pointed look and he sighs.

“Thank you, Miss _Hollis,_ ” he retorts sarcastically, continuing with the lecture.

Laura smirks. “Thanks,” she whispers.

Carmilla gives a noncommittal shrug.

 

They spend the rest of the class in silence, with Laura doodling on a blank page and jotting down the occasional note. Carmilla keeps picking at her nails, bored. With five minutes left, she glances over and notices that Laura’s been lazily drawing a hill with a tree and a girl leaning against it.

She leans over and starts adding to the page, putting a moon and stars in the sky. Laura lets out a soft chuckle and shifts a bit so Carmilla can get to more of the paper. Soon, the entire sky is filled with stars and there’s a second girl on the hill, an arm wrapped around the other’s waist.

“Pretty presumptuous, don’t you think?” Laura teases, hushed.

Carmilla scoffs. “Who says that second girl is me? If anything, it seems like you’re the one being presumptuous.”

Laura blushes and is at a loss for words when the professor dismisses the class.

They pack up their stuff and leave the hall, heading through the parking lot. The rain has died down.

 

“How did you know the answer, by the way?” Laura asks once she’s in the driver’s seat.

“Answer to what?” Carmilla asks, buckling herself in and crossing her arms.

“The professor’s question,” Laura replies. “We just started that topic today.”

Carmilla shrugs. “Just because I don’t show up to class doesn’t mean I don’t do the reading.”

Laura hums in response and starts driving down the main road towards the forest.

“Can you do me a favor and see if I have any missed messages or calls from my dad?” Laura asks after a few minutes, gesturing at the phone between them.

Carmilla pokes the home button and shakes her head. “Nothing.”

Laura lets out a sigh of relief.

“What’s the matter? Daddy’s little girl afraid he wouldn’t approve of murder?”

Laura rolls her eyes. “Daddy’s little girl has a paranoid father who freaks out every time there’s a storm and I’m driving,” she answers, annoyed.

The rest of the drive is short and in a comfortable silence, until they see the flashing lights near the side of the forest.

 

“Shit,” Carmilla curses as Laura pulls up to the area. She starts to back up, but someone in a uniform knocks on the driver’s window.

Laura takes a deep breath and rolls down the window. “Hey, dad.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also FYI updates are tagged on tumblr as [#Carmilla sheriff AU](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/tagged/carmilla+sheriff+au).


	3. The Less I Know, The Better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmilla and Laura bump into the sheriff and have to deal with his questions about their whereabouts the previous night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part five of nine of my Holiday Fanfic Bomb 2015! I'll be posting nine updates today to three different fics :D  
> Next update will be in an hour ;)

Carmilla has to check the urge from letting her jaw drop open.

“Hi, monkey,” he greets warmly. “What brings you here today? You live in the other direction from campus.”

Laura swallows hard. “Well…”

The man peers over and spots Carmilla in the passenger seat. He raises an eyebrow. “Who’s this?”

The girls exchange glances.

“You wouldn’t happen to be Carmilla Karnstein, would you?” he asks, the previous warmth in his voice gone.

Carmilla takes a moment to steel herself. “Yes, that’s me.”

 

“Step out of the car, please,” he orders.

Laura stiffens. “Dad, what––”

“ _Now_.”

Carmilla sighs and unbuckles her seatbelt as Laura’s father goes around the car.

“We found your vehicle over there,” he says, gesturing with his thumb. “Right where _two bodies_ were buried in a shallow grave and washed out during the storm this morning.” He clenches his jaw. “One of which was a deputy. Have anything to say about that?”

By now, Laura’s out of the car and practically jumps between them. “Dad, I don’t know what you’re insinuating, but––”

“––How did you even meet this girl, Laur?” her father demands.

“Coffee shop,” Laura answers.

“Book store,” Carmilla answers at the same time.

Laura gives her a warning look to stop talking. “Both,” Laura speaks up. “It’s one of those fancy new combos.”

 

He directs the inquisition away from Carmilla and towards Laura.

“You didn’t answer me before. What are you doing in this area?”

Having used this time to come up with a quick story, Laura doesn’t hesitate. “Carmilla’s car got stuck in the mud out here last night before the storm–– she’s new in the area–– so I’m giving her a ride to get the car,” she answers smoothly.

Seemingly satisfied with the response, he looks back at Carmilla. “And how did you get the car stuck?” he asks.

Carmilla tries to think of a reply, but something about this man is unnerving her more than most cops do. Her usual knack for lying seems to be on the fritz.

“Dad,” Laura cuts in. “Do you really think Carmilla killed one of your deputies?”

He doesn’t bother looking at her and continues to stare Carmilla down. “Where were you between 10pm and 3am?”

 

_Don’t do it, Hollis, don’t do it, Hollis, don’t do it, Hollis––_

“She was with me,” Laura blurts out. Carmilla’s eyes widen.

Her father turns his attention back to her. “She was?”

“Mmhmm, yup,” Laura says, nodding emphatically.

 _Good going_.

“She’s a pretty good artist and I thought showing her that gorgeous hill nearby would be a good inspiration, so we both drove here yesterday. But I gave her a ride back to my place to hang out afterwards and by the time I drove her back here her car was stuck so I just dropped her off last night so we could wait for the storm to wash the mud away. She was with me from 10pm to 3am.”

 

“You expect me to believe that you met this girl in a book store-slash-coffee shop and then took her to see a hill to inspire her art on the same night one of my deputies was murdered and dumped into a hole?” her father asks through gritted teeth.

Laura sighs and opens the rear passenger door of her car and pulls out her backpack. She opens it and pulls out the loose-leaf paper they’d been doodling on in class and shows the drawing to her father.

He glances at it.

“You’ve seen my doodling, dad. And you know I can’t draw stars like that,” Laura says smoothly.

Carmilla’s eyes are so comically wide now that Laura’s afraid they may never go back to their old smoldering size.

“Besides, if your deputy was thrown into a hole, wouldn’t she need a shovel?” Laura continues. “Did you guys find a shovel in her car?”

He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “No, we didn’t.” He hands Laura back the piece of paper and glances at Carmilla.

“Sorry for the inconvenience,” he grumbles. “But your car might still be evidence.”

 

“Looks like I’ll have to keep driving you around,” Laura says, playfully nudging Carmilla.

Carmilla forces a smile. “Great,” she says flatly.

“Right, well… We’ll get going now,” Laura says sweetly, giving her dad a hug and a quick peck on the cheek. “Go catch some bad guys, dad. And, uh… _you know_.”

“I know.” His smile from earlier returns and he pats her on the head. “Stay safe, Laura.”

She gives him a squeeze on the arm and returns to the driver’s side.

Carmilla forces herself to meet his eyes. “Uhm, nice to meet you, sir,” she says carefully. “Wish it was under better circumstances.”

“Hmm,” he grunts at her. “Keep out of trouble.”

Carmilla awkwardly gets back in the car and lets out a sigh when Laura has driven a safe distance away from the crime scene.

 

“Your dad is _the chief deputy_?” Carmilla snarls. “Didn’t think to mention that sooner?”

Laura scoffs. “Really? _Really_ , Carmilla Karnstein?” She slams her steering wheel and Carmilla jumps. “You killed a _deputy_ and _I’m_ the one with lousy timing for revelations?”

Carmilla sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. “Shit.”

Laura drives for another couple minutes before making a turn off a small road and pulling over on the side of the road. She slumps forward and leans her forehead against the steering wheel. “I can’t believe the amount of lies I just told my dad,” she groans.

 

“I don’t even know how you pulled any of that off, cupcake.” Carmilla glances over at her. “I could barely _answer_ any of his questions, let alone _lie_ to him.”

Laura sits back up and looks over, biting her lip.

 _That should be illegal_ , Carmilla thinks.

“Yeah, well, I’ve had an entire lifetime of practice,” Laura replies miserably. “The trick is to keep as much of it as a truth as possible and then just branch off of that with your lie.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, everything I told him was the truth _except_ for the part where you murdered his deputy and then buried his body,” Laura answers. “And the alibi of us being together in that time frame. But me dropping you off because your car got stuck, and you drawing the hill, that was rooted in truth.” She shrugs. “It always works on my dad.”

 

Carmilla smiles for the first time. “Lie to your dad a lot, do you?”

“Never about something like this before,” Laura responds. “But, I mean… you’ve met him now and you see how he is. Honesty isn’t necessarily the best policy with him.”

Carmilla nods and watches as Laura slowly recomposes herself.

“Well, that talk about a coffee shop got me in the mood for a hot beverage fix,” Laura declares, pulling back onto the road and making a U-turn. “Wanna join?”

“Sure.”

 

~*~

 

They’re seated by the window, watching the sunlight peek through the clouds.

“Why _did_ you lie for me?” Carmilla asks quietly.

Laura glances up at her and picks at the lid of her cup.

“You were in the clear,” Carmilla continues. “He was only suspecting me and you could’ve just left me to drown in his questions instead of making up this whole story.”

Laura shrugs and takes a sip of her hot chocolate. “Didn’t seem right to just let him interrogate you and have you take the fall. After all, one of those bodies was because of me.” She points with her thumb to the back of the car. “Although I’d definitely appreciate it if you took the shovel out of my trunk later.”

Carmilla cocks her head to the side and stares at the other girl. Laura’s eyes are trained to the table.

“Don’t you want to know why I killed a cop?” she finally asks quietly.

Laura smiles and shakes her head. “I think I’m already deep enough in your crime in addition to mine,” she replies. “The less I know, the better.”

Carmilla smirks. “But what if I’m some deranged cop-killer?”

“The less I know, the better,” Laura repeats with a wink.

 

Carmilla lets out a small laugh and drinks from her cup. “You’re an odd one, Laura Hollis.”

Laura gives her a half-smile.

“And I am in your debt.”


	4. Stargazing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmilla receives orders on what to do with Laura and comes to a decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part six of nine of my Holiday Fanfic Bomb 2015! I'll be posting nine updates today to three different fics :)  
> Next update for this fic will pop up in an hour or so LOL

Carmilla takes deep breaths as she walks through the hubbub in the dimly lit space.

“Hey,” she calls out to Will, her mother’s right hand man. “Is she in?”

He nods, not looking up at her from his desk. “She’s expecting you, kitty.”

Carmilla rolls her eyes at the nickname and walks towards the office. She knocks a few times on the door before hearing a muffled, “Come in.”

“Mother,” Carmilla greets.

The woman at the desk, intimidating even when seated, folds her hands. She smiles, but there’s no genuine happiness behind it, her eyes as cold. “Carmilla.” She gestures to the seat across her desk. “Please, sit.”

Carmilla slowly slides into the chair. “You wanted to see me?”

 

“Yes, darling,” she says, reaching into her desk and smoothly sliding keys across the desk. “Here are your car keys, which were generously given to me by a _friend_ in the sheriff’s department, now that it’s been cleared from evidence.”

Carmilla reaches out for them but a hand rests on top of hers, holding it in place.

“This friend had quite a lot to say, actually.” Her mother removes her hand and watches as Carmilla uneasily puts the keys in her pocket.

“Such as?”

Not one to mince words, Lilita Morgan taps the table. “You were seen with the chief deputy’s daughter.”

Carmilla shrugs. “I didn’t know she was his daughter until yesterday.”

“How did you two meet?”

Carmilla bites her lip, contemplating whether to lie to her or tell her the truth. She hadn’t told her mother yet about the whole “cop attacked me and I killed him and buried his body” thing.

 

“Carmilla,” her mother presses impatiently.

“Coffee store slash bookstore near the school,” Carmilla answers.

The older woman quirks an eyebrow.

“She was there for the former, I was there for the latter.”

“Hmm.” The woman hums in thought. “Do you have any other interaction with her?”

 _What is she getting at?_ “We have class together.”

The older woman settles back in her chair, smirking and satisfied. “ _Excellent_.”

 

Knowing better that to push her mother, Carmilla sits and waits patiently.

“Continue this… relationship,” she begins. “It could be beneficial.”

Carmilla crosses her arms. “How?”

Her mother smirks. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head about that, dear. For now, just befriend her.”

Carmilla swallows hard and glances down at her shoes. Getting close to people, with her mother’s knowledge, has had a bad track record. And this Laura Hollis was probably one of the most genuinely sweet people she’d ever met–– murderer and all.

“My darling, do you understand?” she asks stiffly.

Carmilla slowly meets her mother’s eyes. “You’ve made yourself clear.”

“I should hope so,” she says, smiling thinly before waving her hand dismissively. “That’ll be all.”

 

Carmilla stands and has to check the urge to run out of the office. She calmly walks out of the room and the building and waits until she’s a block away before slamming her fist against a wall.

 _No_.

Laura had not only given Carmilla a couple rides after she’d stupidly parked her car in the mud, she’d also _lied_ to her father and given her an alibi. She didn’t deserve to be _used_ by Carmilla’s mother.

Carmilla took a deep breath and came to terms with her decision. She would befriend Laura as asked.

 

But only to keep an eye on her and protect her.

 

 ~*~

 

Laura sits at her desk, twirling the highlighter in her hand. She’s been marking up her textbook, dragging the study tool across the page for every part she finds important, confusing, or interesting. Which means every single page is completely covered in ink.

“You’re doing a great job, Hollis,” she grumbles to herself. She throws the highlighter down and runs a hand through her hair.

Her phone buzzes, pulling her out of her self-wallowing. She checks the caller ID and smiles.

 _Carmilla_.

They’d exchanged numbers after their little coffee date but she didn’t think Carmilla would be using it–– and so soon. She answers the call.

 

“Hey, creampuff,” Carmilla greets sultrily. “Whatcha up to?”

Laura puts down her highlighter and grins. “Oh, just committing murder and burying another body–– you know, the usual.”

Carmilla’s laugh comes out soft but genuine. “And you didn’t invite me?” she mocks offense.

“Sorry, totally slipped my mind.” Laura picks at the corner of the page. “But after all that fancy-schmancy crime stuff, I like to do other badass things like… study for our philosophy class.”

“Wow, sounds like you’re in an all-out rebellion,” Carmilla remarks.

Laura giggles. “Yeah.” She clears her throat. “Do you wanna study together?”

There’s a moment of silence and Laura’s about to messily and awkwardly rescind her offer when Carmilla finally speaks. “I think I might like that very much,” she says quietly.

“Okay! So I’ll text you my address,” Laura says excitedly.

“See you soon,” Carmilla says before the call disconnects.

 

Laura quickly tidies up the house. Not much needs to be done, since she’s a relatively neat person. After the storm, the temperature had remained low and the air was crisp, so Laura starts heating up water to make hot chocolate.

Just as she’s pouring it into a couple of mugs, her doorbell rings and Laura opens the door to two cups of hot beverages.

“Sorry it took so long,” Carmilla says with a smirk. “Hot chocolate, right?”

Laura’s mouth drops open. “Uh, yeah, thank you,” she says, stepping aside and gesturing for Carmilla to enter. “This is so funny–– I just made you some.”

Carmilla chuckles and puts the cups down on the kitchen island. “Well, you can never have too much hot chocolate, right?” She takes a sip from her own cup.

Laura cocks her head to the side. “Right.”

 

Carmilla smirks and picks up one of the mugs and takes a sip from that. “Mmm, tastes better,” she says.

Laura blushes and sits down at her desk. “Uhm, thanks.”

Carmilla wanders over to the desk and looks down at the book, raising an eyebrow. “Think you highlighted enough there, cupcake?”

Laura laughs nervously. “Philosophy is _so_ not my thing,” she admits, ashamed.

“How long were you studying?” Carmilla asks.

Laura shrugs. “A few hours.”

“Maybe you need a break,” Carmilla suggests, holding out the other cup for Laura. “Come on, it’s a beautiful night out.”

“I invited you over to study,” Laura says, pouting. “It’d be rotten of me to do that just for us to _not_ study. I feel like I’d be wasting your time.”

“Hon, any time spent with you is not wasted, believe me,” Carmilla replies smoothly. “Come _on_ , let’s go out for a walk.”

Laura bites her lip. “Are you sure?”

Carmilla nods sincerely.

“Fine,” Laura says, her pout disappearing and a smile taking its place. “Lead the way.”

 

 ~*~

 

They’ve walked in a comfortable silence until they reach a hill near campus. There is almost no light pollution and the stars glitter in the night sky. Carmilla sits down on the grass and pats the spot next to her. Laura eagerly joins her.

“Aren’t the stars breathtakingly beautiful?” Carmilla asks, her voice filled with awe.

Laura glances around. Having grown up in the area, it wasn’t anything special. “Sure, I guess.”

“I grew up in the city,” Carmilla explains. “Not sure I can ever get over this kind of view at night. It’s comforting, to think how small we are in comparison.”

“It doesn’t make you feel lonely?” Laura takes a sip from her hot chocolate. _Dunno_ what _Carmilla was talking about, this hot chocolate tastes way better. And probably wasn’t made from some instant mix._

“No more than usual,” Carmilla replies softly.

Laura looks at her, but Carmilla averts her eyes, as if she hadn’t meant for that statement to slip out.

“That’s what our reading is about, isn’t it? Loneliness?” Carmilla clears her throat. “Thomas Wolfe and all that jazz?”

Laura blinks and nods. “Yeah. It’s just that I didn’t really get what point he was trying to make.”

 

“His point was that loneliness isn’t sad or strange–– it’s a given. We’re born alone, and we die alone. But he thinks we should take comfort in that.”

Having finished her hot chocolate, Laura lies down in the grass. “Comfort in loneliness?”

“Because we’re all lonely,” Carmilla replies. “We’re all lonely, so he thinks if we were to bond over that and understand that about each other, then that’s what makes life precious.” She lies down next to Laura. “Does any of that make sense to you?”

Laura nods. “But I still think that’s the saddest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“That’s life,” Carmilla shrugs. “Or, at least, how Wolfe saw it.”

 

Laura hums in response and looks back up at the sky, seeing the stars in a new perspective. “You’re right, Carm. They are beautiful.”

Carmilla smiles at the nickname and glances at Laura.

“Too bad you didn’t call sooner,” Laura teases. “You could’ve saved me a lot in highlighter ink.”


	5. Where There's a Will, There's a Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmilla invites Laura to a party, where they slay at beer pong. Laura runs into someone who knows what she did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part seven of nine** of my Holiday Fanfic Bomb 2015! I'll be posting nine updates today to three different fics :)  
> Next update for this fic will pop up in an hour or so :P
> 
> **[Insert _Star Trek Voyager_ pun here]

Laura reaches into her package of cookies and frowns when only crumbs are left. She quickly finishes off the crumbs and rises to throw out the package and to get another one when her phone buzzes. Laura grins and answers the call.

“Hey, Carmilla,” Laura greets. She hadn’t seen her since their little stargazing adventure on Wednesday, although they had exchanged some text messages throughout their days. Carmilla’s were a bit more on the flirty side, but she wasn’t sure what to make of that. “How are you this fine Saturday?”

“There’s a party tonight,” Carmilla begins. “And I was wondering if you would mind being the cutie on my arm?”

Laura almost drops the package of cookies on the ground. _Carmilla? Inviting me to a party?_ She shakes her head. _She’s totally inviting you as a friend, Hollis. Get it together_. Although, the mere thought of even being friends with Carmilla is enough to make her feel gooey inside.

 

“Cupcake? You still there?”

“Yeah, yeah, sorry,” Laura rushes out.

“Did you hear what I said?” Carmilla asks, amused.

Laura puts the pack of cookies down and runs a hand through her hair. “I heard you.”

“…Is that a ‘no?’” Carmilla’s voice loses all playfulness and she sounds more disappointed and sad.

“No!” Laura blurts out. “It’s just…” She sighs. “It’s my dad,” she grumbles.

Laura could swear she hears a sigh of relief on the other end. “What about him?”

“W-Well, it’s just that he’s pretty overprotective and parties are––” Laura cuts herself off. Hell, wasn’t she living on her own? Plus, she definitely knew how to handle herself. And being at a party with Carmilla–– well, there were worse things.

“‘Parties are,’ what?” Carmilla presses gently.

 _Screw it_. “Never mind,” Laura replies. “I’ll go!”

“Are you sure, buttercup?” Carmilla asks, the playful tone returning. “Wouldn’t want to get the chief deputy on my bad side.”

“I’m sure,” Laura says firmly. “He’ll never know what a bad influence you are on me.”

Carmilla chuckles. “Okay. I’ll text you the details. It’s in walking distance for the both of us.”

“Awesome. Yeah, cool,” Laura replies, wanting to throw her phone away in horror at how lame she was being.

“You’re still an odd one, Laura Hollis,” Carmilla chuckles. “See you tonight,” she adds sultrily before hanging up.

Laura does a little dance and flops onto the couch. She _really_ likes the idea of being friends with Carmilla.

 

Laura had gone to her fair share of parties in high school, and had a surprisingly high tolerance for alcohol. But her father kept busting the parties and eventually she stopped receiving invites. She hadn’t gone to any college parties. And now she was going to one with someone she had buried bodies with.

This could either be a good idea or a bad one.

 

 ~*~

 

“Diswuzsuchagoodideaaa,” Laura slurs out as Carmilla drapes an arm over her shoulder. They’re each about six shots in and who-knows-how red solo cups of beer into the evening.

Carmilla throws her head back in laughter. “Okay, cupcake, maybe we should stop.”

They’re currently dominating in a doubles version of beer pong.

“No way, José, we’re kicking _ass_ as a team,” Laura asserts.

 

“I just _had_ to see this for myself,” a voice comes from behind them. Carmilla turns to see a very tall redhead smirking at Laura. “Kirsch told me he saw you at this party and I thought he _must_ be plastered because we haven’t seen you at a party in _years_.”

Laura beams at her and removes herself from Carmilla to give the redhead a hug.

“Yeah, Carm asked me to come,” Laura says.

The redhead raises an eyebrow and extends a hand. “Danny Lawrence.”

Carmilla looks at the hand. “Uh huh.”

Laura narrows her eyes at Carmilla’s rude response. “Be nice,” she scolds.

Carmilla rolls her eyes and shakes Danny’s hand, regarding it as if it’s radioactive.

 

Laura steps back to stand next to Carmilla, but her balance is off and she catches herself on the beer pong table, knocking over a cup and spilling beer all over herself.

“Aw, man,” Laura pouts.

Carmilla chuckles. “Now we’re _definitely_ stopping,” she comments, gently tugging at Laura’s arm. “Come on, I’m taking you home.”

“ _Fine_ ,” Laura whines, trailing behind Carmilla.

“Are you sure you don’t need me to take you home?” Danny asks, following them.

“I’ve got it, you walking string bean,” Carmilla snaps, stopping to glare at her.

“Carm, remember _way_ back when I said to be nice?” Laura giggles. “I still mean it.”

Danny crosses her arms. “I just meant… do you even know where she lives?”

“I’ve been to her place before,” Carmilla sneers.

“I’ll be fine,” Laura insists, teetering a bit and grabbing onto Carmilla and tightening her grip to steady herself.

Danny remains skeptical. “Because I can take her home if you want…”

 

Laura huffs, clearly done trying to pacify the redhead. “Danny, I don’t need you _and_ my dad hovering over me and being overprotective. I can make my own decisions!” She lets go of Carmilla and takes a step towards Danny. “Now, I may not be totally sober right now, but I’m not so out of my right mind that I can’t make the decision that Carmilla, who has been a perfectly good friend to me, can walk me home.”

Danny drops her arms to her side. “Fine, yeah, okay,” she mumbles. “I just worry about my best friend, you know?”

Laura nods but it seems to make her dizzy so she quickly stops. “I get it and I’m grateful, but I just need you to back off, okay?”

Danny gives her a small smile, but her face hardens as she glances at Carmilla. “Take care of my girl.”

Carmilla rolls her eyes and wraps her arm around Laura’s shoulder again, turning her so they can leave the party.

 

“So, uh, that was your best friend?” Carmilla asks once they’re outside.

Laura shrugs. “We we've been best friends our whole lives, I guess. Then we started dating during junior year, but I broke up with her in the beginning of senior year because between her and my dad, both were smothering me. It’s not like I can cut ties with my dad, so it had to be her.”

Carmilla hums in response. “Yeah, having parental issues suck like that.” She hadn’t meant for it to slip out, but she figures she’s going to blame it on the alcohol and not the fact that she desperately wanted to connect with Laura.

Laura lets out a small chuckle. “But I guess Danny’s still the best friend I have, and it wasn’t a bad break-up, so there’s that.”

 

Carmilla nods and glances over at Laura before something occurs to her. “Aren’t you cold?”

“Huh?”

“As sexy as you look in that maroon crop top and short shorts, it’s jacket weather,” Carmilla points out.

“Nah,” Laura replies. “I tend to run hot and then the alcohol is doing the rest.”

“Because I _could_ be super chivalrous and offer you my jacket,” Carmilla says, bringing her mouth to ghost Laura’s ear, smirking when she shivers.

“As nice as that would be,” Laura begins, unable to keep her voice from shaking, “you’re not wearing a jacket.”

Carmilla’s eyes widen as she realizes that she is not, in fact, wearing her leather jacket. She hadn’t even realized she was only in her black t-shirt because of the warmth of being near Laura. “Dammit. I must’ve left it at the party.”

“Pfft. And _I’m_ the one that needs to be escorted home,” Laura teases.

Carmilla rolls her eyes. “Stay right here, cutie. I’ll be right back.”

 

Laura nods and leans against the side of a building, smiling as Carmilla does a quick jog back the way they came.

The scary thing is, Laura doesn’t stop smiling once Carmilla rounds a corner and is out of sight. Sure, she had had fun at parties during high school, but her and Carmilla jived so well that it was effortless. Carmilla didn’t pressure her to drink like some of Laura’s friends had, but she also didn’t handle her with kiddie gloves.

No, it was like Carmilla understood and respected that Laura knew what she could and couldn’t handle. Which was odd, considering they had barely known each other a week.

 

“Laura Hollis?” a voice asks from a few feet away, shaking her from her thoughts. She squints but all she sees is a male figure in a shadow by the streetlight.

“Who’s asking?” Her hand twitches, getting ready to grab the keychain mace from her pants pocket.

He steps forward, still shrouded in darkness.

“Kill anyone lately?” Laura’s blood runs cold. His voice is light, but there’s a sharp tone to it.

“Uhm…”

He’s close enough now for her to take him in. He’s not too large, but he has a very intimidating presence.

“You threw him in some ditch,” he hisses in her face. That’s the only warning she gets before he grabs her by the throat and shoves her roughly against the wall, grinning as she gasps for breath.

She grabs the mace and sprays it at his face. He lets out a loud groan, swatting the keychain out of her hand before he completely loses vision. It’s enough, though, and he loosens his grip enough for her to deliver a blow at his chest.

Laura doesn’t have enough leverage for it to make a full impact, but it knocks him away from her.

She starts to run, but he grabs her by the back of her shirt and yanks her backwards, causing her to lose her balance and fall, getting the wind knocked out of her. He kicks her hard in the ribs and she lets out a coughing groan, trying to keep the pain away long enough for her to figure out a better way to defend herself in this alleyway.

 

“Will! What the _fuck_!” Carmilla’s voice rings through the street as she grabs the assailant by the arm.

 _Carmilla knows him?_ Laura thinks fuzzily.

“She killed Sam!” he yells in her face, delivering another kick. Laura can feel herself blacking out but clings onto consciousness, either to hear the explanation for how they know each other, or, more importantly, in case he tries to hurt Carmilla.

“I know that!” Carmilla screams back.

“You _do_?” he growls, turning his attention away from Laura. He shoves Carmilla by the shoulder with enough force that she stumbles into the wall. “You knew the bitch killed him and you’re being buddies with her?”

Carmilla cuts her eyes at him. “Look, there’s an explanation for this––”

He shoves Carmilla again, cutting her off as she winces.

Having regained some of her bearings, Laura manages to sweep her leg and knock Will over.

 

He quickly recovers, however, and drags Laura to her feet before letting her go, only to wind up a punch and hit her square in the cheek. Laura collapses against the wall on the other side of the alleyway.

“Leave her alone!” Carmilla barks, grabbing his arm and yanking him away from Laura.

He doesn’t hesitate as he backhands her, knocking her off her feet with a yelp.

There’s a sudden _thwack_ as Will crumples to the ground, unconscious. Carmilla’s eyes wander to Laura, who’s brandishing a wooden plank that had been lying on the ground.

 

“Oh, my gosh!” a voice cries as footsteps approach the building. “Laura!”

A redhead with curly hair appears. She wraps her arms around a shaking Laura. “Hi, Perry,” she sniffles through wheezing breaths.

Carmilla rises to her feet and looks at Laura, worry evident in her face.

“I’m calling the police,” Perry says, carefully letting go of Laura.

Both Carmilla and Laura start to protest, but realize at the same time that this time it’s definitely for the best.

“He’s not dead, is he?” Laura asks once Perry steps away to make the call.

Carmilla checks for a pulse. “No.”

Laura lets out a sigh of relief. Carmilla walks over to her and inspects her face. There’s a split lip and some nasty bruises forming.

“Geez, you’re tough,” Carmilla comments.

“Dad had me in self-defense lessons since I could walk,” Laura comments, placing a hand against her ribs.

Carmilla frowns. “Can I…?” Laura nods and Carmilla gently removes Laura’s hand and sucks in a breath.

“Are you okay?” Laura asks.

Carmilla raises an eyebrow. “Pretty sure whatever injures I have pale in comparison to yours, hon.”

Laura musters up the strength for a smile. “But there are injuries,” she says smugly.

Carmilla narrows her eyes playfully. Laura matches the look and they spend a couple seconds smirking at each other.

 

“So, how do you know him?” Laura finally asks.

Carmilla swallows hard. “Uh––”

“Okay, the police and an ambulance are on the way,” Perry says, walking over and fussing over Laura. “And so are LaFontaine, Danny, and Kirsch.”

“Great,” Laura sighs, apparently forgetting the question she asked Carmilla that went unanswered. “And by ‘the police,’ I assume you mean my dad.”

Perry frowns. “Yeah.”

“He’s gonna kill me,” Laura whines. “And then bring me back to life and then kill me again.”


	6. Make Your Own Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laura finds out the truth about Carmilla and has to decide if she wants to keep up the lie she's made up for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part eight of nine of my Holiday Fanfic Bomb 2015! I'll be posting nine updates today to three different fics :)

“ _Under-aged drinking_?” her father yells, pacing his office. The door is closed and the blinds in the window are down, but there is no doubt in Laura’s mind that everyone outside can hear him. “Laura, what were you _thinking_?”

She swallows hard.

“Were you _even_ thinking?” he continues, not waiting for a response from her. “You’re already vulnerable enough as my daughter without inhibiting yourself with alcohol!”

“I didn’t _ask_ to be vulnerable!” Laura shouts back.

He stops pacing and looks at her, raising an eyebrow. “What?”

“You think I get kicks from having some stupid target on my back because of _your job_?” Laura demands. “It’s your life choices that are making me more vulnerable than I’d already be! Do you have any idea what it was like in high school, being the chief deputy’s daughter? How many people picked on me or shunned me because they thought I was a narc?” She shakes her head. “The drinking was wrong, but you’re suffocating me!”

“I’m allowed to be worried about you, Laura,” he asserts through clenched teeth.

“But you should also trust me to make my own decisions,” Laura points out.

He slams a folder down on the desk in front of her next to her lunch. “Your own decisions? Like, befriending Carmilla?”

Laura scoffs. “What about her?”

He opens the folder and points at a mug shot of none other than Carmilla.

“Carmilla _Karnstein_ ,” he hisses, “is the daughter of the crime syndicate leader Lilita Morgan, better known as The Dean. She’s on the board at Silas University and has been rumored to be connected to crimes from drug trafficking, to murder, but none of it has been proven.”

Laura had known that the Dean of Silas University had her fingers in some suspicious pies, but her father had decided that keeping Laura in town trumped any potential dealings Laura might have with her.

 

Laura looks down at the mug shot and quickly scans over her offenses. Nothing major pops out–– just some petty theft and aggravated assault. But under the “Associations” section, The Dean is listed as her mother.

“You didn’t know this, did you?” he asks, not accusing her, but genuinely curious.

Laura shakes her head, still staring down at the file.

He sighs and sits down across the desk from her. “Laur, the bodies that were in that ditch–– one was a new deputy named Brody Kay. But the other was a thug named Samuel David Ellis, one of whom has known associations with that William Luce that we’ve charged for assaulting you last night.”

Laura finally looks up from the file and meets her father’s eyes.

He had also shown her the autopsy photos for Ellis and Officer Kay, either to shock her into changing her alibi, or to show her show her how ‘scary’ Carmilla could be.

“William Luce and Samuel Ellis both work for The Dean,” he continues. “The working theory is that something happened between Ellis and Officer Kay. But who buried them?” He presses his lips together in a thin line. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that The Dean’s daughter’s vehicle was stuck in the area. Now, I’m going to ask you again. Do you know anything different than what you’ve told me, given this information?”

 

Laura holds her father’s gaze in spite of the whirling thoughts and feelings inside of her. She had known Carmilla had killed that new deputy, but was trying to give her the benefit of the doubt, considering she herself had dropped a body into that ditch, as well. But now that she knew Carmilla’s mother was some kind of mob boss, did that make Carmilla a bad person, too?

After all, Carmilla had offered to take Laura home the previous night, and had pulled Will away from her at the risk of getting hit herself. And then she had stuck by Laura’s side, only leaving after her father had shown up and practically melted Carmilla with his glare.

Maybe Carmilla was just a girl stuck in a bad position, just like Laura had been.

Or maybe she was a cold-blooded murderer. But did remorseless killers go around buying people hot chocolate?

 

“Laura?”

Laura takes a deep breath. “Carmilla was with me that entire night, dad.”

He settles back in his chair, not hiding his skepticism.

She shifts uncomfortably, her hand brushing over her bruised ribs. “I’m really tired, dad, and it’s been a long night. Can I please just go home?”

 

He nods. “Yes, Laura. I’ll drive you home. And no more drinking.”

 _That much I can do_. “Promise.”

 

 ~*~

 

Laura collapses in her bed and falls asleep for a few hours after her father drops her off, once again pressing her for more information on Carmilla before leaving.

By the time she hears her phone ring, the sun has gone down.

She clumsily answers it, not bothering to look at the caller ID. “Hello?” she grumbles.

“Hey, Hollis,” a familiar sultry voice greets, albeit more nervous than usual.

Laura tries to push herself up and winces.

“Sorry if I woke you up,” Carmilla continues, her tone softening in worry. “I, uh… wanted to check up on you. Are you home?”

Laura contemplates a variety of responses before settling for, “Yeah, I am.”

“I’m in the area. Can I visit?”

Laura slowly stands from her bed. “Yeah. I wanted to talk to you.”

 

Within ten minutes, Carmilla’s made it to Laura’s apartment. There’s a knock at the door.

“It’s open,” Laura calls.

Carmilla opens the door. “Wow, leaving your door unlocked after last night. You’re brave.”

“Close the door,” Laura says icily.

Carmilla quirks an eyebrow but does as asked. She takes in the sight of Laura before her–– the bruises have darkened and the cut lip has scabbed over. Laura seems to be sitting cautiously, as if any movement could send a pang through her ribs at any moment.

“How are you feeling?” Carmilla chances.

“Been better,” Laura replies.

Her father had left the file with her, no doubt hoping that its presence would force her to spill the truth to him sooner or later. She has it on the island and flips it open, pointing at the mug shot.

“Care to explain this?”

 

Carmilla’s mouth drops open but she quickly closes it.

“You’re The Dean’s daughter,” Laura says. “As in, gang-leader-slash-Grand-Poobah-of-a-crime-syndicate The Dean!”

“Laura, I––”

“And you _killed_ that cop,” Laura continues, her voice getting higher. “You killed that cop and threw him into that hole and I covered for you to my dad _twice._ ”

Carmilla’s eyebrows furrow together. “Twice?”

“Yes, _twice_!” Laura shouts. “Because after your buddy William Luce beat the poop out of me last night, I spent all of today at the station being interrogated by my dad because you’re his associate, _and_ the associate of the guy _I_ killed.”

She slams her fist on the table.

“Why didn’t you tell me about your mother or that you knew the guy I killed?”

Carmilla’s eyes widen in panic. “Wait, your dad was interrogating _you_?”

Laura gives a loud, exasperated sigh. “ _Yes_.”

“About what?” Carmilla asks, running a hand through her hair.

“He told me everything he’s dug up about you and then asked if my story about that night’s alibi changed.”

“And you said…?”

“I told him nothing changed!” Laura yells, wincing as her hand flies to her ribs.

Carmilla sits down at the island next to her, gently placing her hand over Laura’s as Laura tries to calm herself down. She expects Laura to flinch or pull away, but she doesn’t.

 

“But if you knew I lied to you, why didn’t you tell him the truth?” Carmilla asks softly.

Laura scowls at her. “Because I wanted to know the truth before I threw you under the bus.” Carmilla looks at her expectantly. “Did you just kill that cop in cold blood?”

Carmilla shakes her head. “No.”

“Gonna need more than that,” Laura grumbles. “If you want me to trust you, you have gotta tell me your side of the story.”

Carmilla regards the girl before her carefully. She's not sure why Laura’s giving her a chance at all. Having the chief deputy as your father had to make you more wary of people, right? Yet here Laura was, giving her a chance to defend herself on the basis of her word alone. But she had to tell Laura the truth. After last night, it's the least she deserves.

 

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you who my mother was,” Carmilla begins softly. “But to be fair, I had just killed a cop and I thought you finding that out would put a damper on our… friendship.”

Laura starts to say something but seems to change her mind, so Carmilla continues.

“My mother found out who your dad was and that we’d been spending time together, so she ordered me to keep you close,” she admits.

Laura visibly deflates. “So by ‘friendship,’ you mean using me to get to my dad.”

“No!” Carmilla replies immediately, running a hand through her hair nervously. “ _No_. This… _friendship_ that we’ve established, it’s real.”

Laura looks skeptical but doesn’t say anything.

“Look, I was going home that night, and that deputy came out of nowhere and aimed a gun at me and apologized that he had to kill me. I managed to duck out of the way and he came after me and the gun just went off and the next thing I knew, he was dead.”

 

Laura takes in the sight before her. Carmilla looked as she shocked as she did at the tale, perhaps just now absorbing the fact that a man did die at her hands. There are tears in her eyes but they do not fall.

“Laura, I’m not a monster,” Carmilla finishes, her voice cracking, sounding like she’s trying to convince herself more than she is Laura.

“I know,” Laura replies softly, placing her hand reassuringly on Carmilla’s. “I know.”

Laura removes her hand, leans back in her chair, and sighs.

“I’m not changing our alibi,” she says firmly.

Carmilla nods, giving her a watery but grateful smile. “There’s more,” she says, sniffling and clearing her throat.

 

Laura lets out a small whine and lets her head fall with a thud against the island. “Of course there is,” she remarks, muffled.

“My mother found out about Will getting arrested for attacking you and she called me in this afternoon to say she wants me to stay away from you until this whole thing blows over.”

Laura picks her head up. “You’re doing a fine job of that,” she comments dryly, gesturing to Carmilla in the chair.

“I wanted to see how you were doing,” she replies sincerely.

Laura’s face softens a bit before her eyes widen. “Wait, what did you mean by ‘until this whole thing blows over?’”

Carmilla bites her lip. “I’m not sure how, but I assume my mother is planning to find a way to get the charges dropped…”

 

“Holy crabsticks,” Laura says. “I have to say something to my dad! Will will kill me if he gets out!”

Carmilla shakes her head vehemently. “You can’t. You’re already on my mom’s shit list and if you do anything to make things worse, she’ll––” Her words get caught in her throat and she clears it. “You can’t say _anything_ , Laura.”

“But if there’s corrupted officers working with him, then they don’t have his back––”

“There’s _been_ corruption in his department for a very long time,” Carmilla interrupts. “And he’s been fine. The deputies on my mother’s payroll aren’t dumb enough to take down the chief deputy, _especially_ if he’s none the wiser about them. But if you say something, then he’ll know, and that will be what puts him in danger.”

Laura pouts. “I can’t just sit by and do nothing, Carm.”

“You have to!” Carmilla grabs Laura by the shoulders, trying to get some sense into her. “Laura, if you start making a fuss, my mother _will kill you_.” She swallows hard. “Not even if you make a fuss, but if…”

Laura raises an eyebrow.

“If she finds out that I was spending time with you, not because she asked me, but because I actually enjoyed your company…”

 

“I don’t get it,” Laura says, furrowing her eyebrows together. “Why does she care if you enjoy my company?”

Carmilla averts her gaze.

“Carmilla?” Laura tries gently.

Carmilla takes a deep, shaky breath. “I had this friend named Ell back in middle school. We started dating in high school, but I didn’t let my mother know. It wasn’t like I was hiding it–– it was just that she didn’t seem interested in my life, and she was always dealing with her business. One day I had Ell over and she happened to wander into my mother’s study and saw some documents my mom had for paying off witnesses. She didn’t even know what they were, but my mother didn’t care…”

Laura’s hand subconsciously wanders to Carmilla’s knee and gives her a gentle squeeze.

Carmilla glances down and lets her voice trail off for a moment, unable to hide how shocked she is at Laura’s sympathy.

“It’s okay,” Laura says softly.

This gives Carmilla the strength to finish her story. “She killed Ell. The police in the city never found her body, and she never came out and told me, but it went unspoken between us and… I knew.”

 

Laura removes her hand and averts her gaze.

“And I don’t think I can let that happen to someone else because of me,” Carmilla finishes, almost inaudibly.

Laura nods slowly. “I get it,” she relents. “Fine, I won’t say anything to anyone.”

Carmilla lets out a sigh of relief.

“Thank you for telling me the truth,” Laura adds, meeting her eyes again with a half-smile. “You didn’t have to.”

“Well, _you_ didn’t have to continue covering for me, cutie,” Carmilla says, her voice edging on being playful again.

Laura chuckles lightly.

 

“That being said, Carm,” Laura speaks, her voice coming out slightly more harsh, “I think your mother might have the right idea here about us not spending as much time together.”

Carmilla presses her lips together in a thin line.

“My dad’s breathing down my neck now that he knows about you and your mother, and he won’t be stopping any time soon. I won’t turn you in, and I won’t breathe a word about your mother to him. But if we want to keep up this ruse, it would be wise for us to keep some distance between us for the time being.” She sighs. “Plus I need time to process things, you know?”

Carmilla swallows hard but nods. “Yeah.” She slowly gets up and heads for the door. “Feel better, Laura.”

Laura watches as Carmilla closes the door behind her, but footsteps don’t echo down the hall for a few moments.

She sighs and walks over to her couch, grabbing her phone up from the cushions before sitting down.

 _Three missed calls from Dad_.

Laura groans and reluctantly dials him back.

“Hey, dad… Yeah, Carmilla just left.”

She pauses.

“Nope, nothing new to report.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're enjoying the ride so far!  
> Welp, the next update for this fic will be in a couple days. Feel free to leave a comment or swing by and hit me up on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/)  
> Also FYI updates are tagged on tumblr as [#Carmilla sheriff AU](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/tagged/carmilla+sheriff+au).  
> Happy Holidays and stay awesome!!


	7. Misery Loves Company

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a week of not speaking, Laura is out with Kirsch and Danny when she bumps into Carmilla with a friend. They reach an understanding, but it's soon put to the test.

“I can't believe you've been going to classes all week,” Danny comments. “You got attacked and beaten up and then just went to classes Monday through to yesterday!”

Kirsch bangs his fist on the diner table. “Nothing can keep the little hottie down!” Danny kicks him under the table and he clears his throat. “By which I mean, nothing can keep Laura down!”

Laura smirks and bites into her burger. “Thanks, Kirsch. And Danny, it was just a couple bruised ribs…”

Danny rolls her eyes. “If it were up to you, you would've pushed to go out to a party or something tonight.”

Laura takes a sip of her milkshake. “Is that why you suggested this diner? To keep me from doing something stupid on a Saturday night?”

Danny averts her gaze and Laura huffs.

“Guys, I'm not doing parties for a while. My dad may be part of the reason there's always a target on my back but he's right. Me making myself more vulnerable like that isn't helping things.”

 

Kirsch grins. “How about next time one of us walks you home?”

Danny glared at him. “ _So_ not helping.”

“I'm just saying,” he replies with a shrug. “If one of us had been with you that night, maybe you wouldn't have gotten hurt.”

“We were lucky LaF called Perry to pick them up and she happened to see what was happening,” Danny admits.

“Exactly! And while I'm not one to turn on my Zetas bros, Will was only a pledge, and a late one at that, so it wouldn't have gone against our code to kick his ass to save yours!”

“Thanks, again, Kirsch. I think.”

He nods eagerly, his trademark goofy grin lighting up the table.

It slowly fades as he clears his throat. “Why did he attack you, though? It was unpr—under—improv—“

“Unprovoked?” Danny offers.

“Yeah! That's it! It was improv-oak!”

Laura starts to give some excuse that it was about her outfit when Danny cuts her off.

 

“Isn't that Carmilla?”

Laura turns around to see the two girls who just walked into the diner and, yes, one of them is Carmilla. Their eyes meet and for a moment Carmilla looks like she’s unsure if Laura wants her to acknowledge her, but Laura gives her a small wave. Relief washes over Carmilla’s face as she waves back, says something to her friend, and they walk over.

“Hi, Carm,” Laura says. “You met Danny the other night at the party. And this is Kirsch.” Both wave at her and mutter hellos.

“Laura,” Carmilla greets. “This is my… friend Mattie.”

Laura doesn’t miss the small hesitation but doesn’t want to bring attention to it, so she just beams at Mattie.

“So you’re Laura,” she sneers. Mattie, an older woman, stands impossibly tall, as if she resides above the rest of the world. And, as if Laura’s mere presence was offensive to her.

 

An awkward silence lingers until a waitress walks up to Carmilla and Mattie. “I have a table ready for you two whenever you’re ready.”

Mattie smirks and walks away with the waitress.

“I’m, uh… Happy to see you’re doing better,” Carmilla mumbles as Danny and Kirsch suddenly find something super interesting to look at outside the window.

“Thanks,” Laura says softly. The cuts and bruises on her face have healed up nicely.

Carmilla hovers a few more seconds before clearing her throat. “Right, well, I should go and join Mattie.”

Laura nods. “Okay. Bye, Carm.”

Carmilla gives her a grimaced smile before pivoting and heading across the diner.

 

Danny lets out a low whistle. “ _Awkwaaaard._ ”

Laura playfully glares at her. “Shut _up_.”

Danny laughs. “But seriously, what was all that about?”

Laura takes the last bite of her burger in order to stall.

“I think she just feels guilty that the attack happened after a party _she_ dragged me to. But I don’t blame her for it, so…”

Danny seems to accept this answer and they quickly finish their meals and pay the check.

Laura gives Carmilla an awkward wave goodbye on their way out of the diner.

 

“Why don’t you guys head to that party tonight?” Laura suggests. “It’s barely 7pm.”

Kirsch and Danny lock eyes and give a small nod of agreement.

“But we’re walking you home first,” Kirsch insists, hooking one arm through Laura’s, while Danny hooks her arm through the other. “It’s our duty as your dudes.”

Danny nods. “What the brozo said.”

“You guys are the best,” Laura giggles.

Once they’ve reached her porch, she unhooks her arms and hugs them.

“Have fun at the party!”

Kirsch gives her a fist bump and Danny waves goodbye. “Good night, Hollis.”

 

Laura loafs around on her couch for about half an hour when there’s a knock at her door. She sighs and slowly makes her way over, peering through the peephole.

_Carmilla?_

Laura opens the door. “Hey?”

Carmilla looks unsure of herself and bites her lip. “Hey. Wasn’t sure if you were home.”

“Danny and Kirsch walked me home.”

Carmilla smiles. “That was nice of them.”

“Yeah.”

Carmilla leans against the doorframe. “I… Look, can we take a walk, or something?”

Laura crosses her arms. “I thought we were supposed to be staying away from each other.”

Carmilla looks a bit shocked by Laura’s response.

To be fair, it had come out more cold and harsh than she intended.

“Seeing you tonight, I just… I missed you?” Carmilla shrugs. “Which is pretty unprecedented since we’ve only hung out a couple times outside of the whole ‘burying bodies’ thing…”

“I missed you, too,” Laura admits quietly.

And she had–– even though they had only known each other for a week, they had texted on the days they didn’t meet up. And with Carmilla, everything came easily–– when her mother wasn’t involved.

She grabs her wallet, keys, and cell phone. “Let’s go take a walk.”

 

Carmilla lets out a sigh of relief and steps back as Laura locks her door.

“There’s a nice ice cream parlor a couple blocks that way,” Laura says, gesturing. Carmilla nods and they start walking.

“How are you feeling?” Carmilla asks gently. “I mean, you _look_ a lot better…”

Laura shrugs. “My ribs are still kinda tender but not as bad. And my face only hurts when I smile too much.” She turns and beams at Carmilla, who can’t hide the smirk.

“You’re an odd little dork.”

Laura giggles.

 

They walk for a bit before Laura speaks again. “So who’s Mattie to you, really?”

Carmilla sighs. “I guess she is technically a friend–– or, at least, the closest thing to a friend I have that works for my mother.”

“Where’d she go?”

“We were just having dinner, like you and your friends. She said she had some business to take care of and left.”

Laura hums in response as they reach the ice cream parlor. After they order their ice cream cones, they sit down to eat them.

“How’s your mom?” Laura asks carefully.

Carmilla licks her cone thoughtfully. “She still doesn’t know who killed the cop,” she says slowly.

Laura raises an eyebrow. “You didn’t tell her?”

Carmilla shakes her head. “It’d just cause more trouble for the two us, believe me.”

“Here’s what I’m confused by.” Laura takes a deep breath. “How’d Will know about me and Ellis?”

Carmilla takes a bite out of her cone. “I had a conversation with my mother this week. On top of staying away from you, she’s operating under the belief that Ellis and the cop duked it out and wound up dead with a third party around.”

“That’s what my dad thinks, too.”

Carmilla nods. “Apparently this theory came from Will himself, so she had sent him to investigate further. Whatever he discovered led him to you.”

“You don’t know what that was?”

She shakes her head. “My mother instructed him not to talk to anyone, not even the lawyer she got him. There’s just too many unknown variables right now and she doesn’t have a plan.”

“Hmm.”

 

They slowly continue eating their ice cream cones in silence.

“Carm?” Laura says, finishing hers.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for telling me all this.” She playfully nudges her with her leg. “I know you didn’t have to.”

Carmilla chuckles. “Well, you haven’t run screaming to your dad about me, yet. I figured I owed you at least the truth, cutie.” She takes another bite out of her cone. “Plus, it was _awkward_ earlier in the diner.”

Laura throws her head back in a laugh. “Yeah, it was.”

 

After they leave the ice cream parlor, Carmilla stuffs her hands in her pockets. “Are we okay?”

Laura cocks her head to the side and furrows her eyebrows in confusion. “We weren’t _not_ okay,” she replies.

Carmilla scoffs. “I dunno, cutie, our interaction before this ice cream adventure indicated otherwise.”

“Look, when I said I needed to process things, it’s just–– I’m…” She lowers her voice. “…covering up two murders from my dad, the chief deputy...”

Laura runs a hand through her hair.

“My dad, who calls me every day to check up on me, and is still pressuring me to change the alibi we have for that night. It’s just a lot for me to handle.”

“You don’t have to handle it alone, sweetheart,” Carmilla replies softly.

Laura laughs dryly. “Carm, your mom told you to stay away from me.”

“But this week was miserable without you,” Carmilla says. It slips out, but she doesn’t want to take it back.

 

“And isn’t that scary?” Laura chuckles. “We’d only known each other for a week, but… we clicked so well.”

Carmilla swallows hard.

“And that’s also what I needed to process. Because it’s scary, knowing someone for literally one night and then lying to your dad about what we did, without even knowing at the time what the truth was.” Laura sighs. “It was scary to trust you so _much_ so _fast._ ”

“I understand,” Carmilla nods. “I’ll back off, okay? It was just… seeing you earlier… I wanted to clear the air.”

“And now that we have,” Laura says, grabbing Carmilla hand and squeezing gently, “I realized I’m not scared anymore. Because you’ve deserved the trust I put in you.”

Carmilla glances down at their joined hands and smirks. “Are you saying you trust me, Laura Hollis?”

Laura bites her lip and smiles. “I’m saying, if we’re miserable staying away from each other, maybe we shouldn’t do that.”

“I like the way you think, cupcake.”

 

Laura lets go of Carmilla’s hand and takes a step back. “See you around?”

“Absolutely,” Carmilla responds, heading in the other direction. “Goodnight.”

 

~*~

 

Carmilla’s been in her bed for a few hours. Falling asleep is normally easy for her, but tonight she couldn’t get this darn _grin_ off her face.

Laura was much too good for her. Not even because she was inherently on the right side of the law, while Carmilla wasn’t, but she was just so _pure_. When she laughed, she put her entire body into it, and when she smiled it actually lit up her whole face. Plus, she knew Carmilla’s family’s alliances and still thought she was worthy of her trust.

Even Ell hadn’t known. And if she had, Carmilla’s not sure she would’ve been as okay with it as Laura seemed to be.

Now she just had to make sure her mother didn’t know Carmilla was risking her entire operation by remaining friends with Laura.

 _Just friends_.

 

There’s a weird knock at the door, almost as if there’s a sense of urgency behind it without the repetitive rapping most people would do.

Carmilla groans and looks over at her clock. _Great._ She’d been lying in bed for five hours.

She gets up and goes to the door, looking through the peephole. She doesn’t see anyone, so she opens the door to glance around the porch.

Except when she pulls open the door, she realizes someone is on the ground in front of it.

 _Laura_.

Carmilla’s eyes widen as she takes in the sight before her–– a crumpled, bloodied Laura, who seems to be barely breathing.

 

“Holy fuck, oh my fucking god, holy shit,” Carmilla curses, kneeling down and checking Laura’s pulse.

Laura groans. “Your mom sucks,” she moans before passing out.

_My mother?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next update for this fic will be in a couple days. Feel free to leave a comment or swing by and hit me up on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/)  
> Also FYI updates are tagged on tumblr as [#Carmilla sheriff AU](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/tagged/carmilla+sheriff+au).  
> <3


	8. Are You Gonna Stay The Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmilla takes care of Laura while trying to piece together what happened after they left each other earlier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was gonna be less of a butt after that cliffhanger and post an update yesterday but life got in the way and you wouldn't have gotten a nicely edited chapter LOL. But you're in for some fluffy times ahead after this chapter, my friends <3  
> Enjoy!

Carmilla cradles Laura’s head and checks her breathing and then, because she’s _fucking panicking_ , checks her pulse again.

“Okay. Okay. You’re alive,” Carmilla whispers. She carefully picks Laura up and carries her in, walking into the bedroom and placing Laura there. Carmilla looks down at her again.

Her entire face seems to be either bruised or bleeding. There are scrapes and gashes along her arms and legs, as well as across her torso–– all shallow, as if done to inflict pain and not cause too much blood loss.

Carmilla lets out a shaky breath and heads back to her living room to close the front door. She goes to wet a washcloth, when there’s another knock at her door.

_What the frilly hell?_

She peers through the peephole and frowns as she opens the door.

“Mattie?”

 

Mattie places a hand on her hip and saunters right in. “Have any visitors other than me?” she asks, clearly knowing the answer.

Carmilla’s mouth drops open. “Mattie, what did you _do_?”

Mattie smirks and cocks her head to the side. She looks so proud of herself that Carmilla snaps. She grabs Mattie by the arm and practically drags her into the bedroom, gesturing at the bloodied and unconscious Laura on her bed.

“Tsk. She’s dirtying up your sheets,” Mattie comments, shaking her head.

Carmilla’s eyes widen in horror. “Mattie, what the _fuck_?” She steps closer to her. “ _What did you do?_ ”

“I saw you two, outside of that ice cream parlor,” Mattie replies bluntly. “Your mother sent me to keep an eye on you, to make sure you were, in fact, staying away from the chief deputy’s daughter.”

Carmilla swallows hard. “So asking me to dinner tonight…”

“Your mother just wanted me to spend time with you and find out through conversation. It just so happens that we coincidentally saw her. Honest.”

Carmilla cuts her eyes at her. “And then?”

”And then, I called your mother to report back and after you left her to wander home alone, some of Will and Sam’s buddies snatched her right off the sidewalk,” Mattie replies smugly. “Clearly, they had a lot to say–– as did your mother.”

 

Carmilla grabs Mattie’s collar and growls in her face.

“Be careful, darling,” Mattie warns, worry completely absent from her tone. “You’ll damage the fabric.”

Mattie’s total apathy, while a beaten-up Laura lies on her bed, is enough to send Carmilla over the edge. “ _I will kill_ ––”

“Carm?” a weak voice comes from beside them.

Carmilla immediately lets a smirking Mattie go and sits down beside Laura.

“Oh, thank God you’re awake,” Carmilla breathes out. “You scared the shit outta me, cupcake.”

Laura squints groggily at Carmilla before her eyes wander to Mattie. “Uhm, sorry.” Her eyes continue moving as she glances around the room. “Where am I?”

 

“My bedroom, cutie.” She tucks a strand of hair behind Laura’s ear. “What do you remember?”

 

Laura starts to talk but her voice cracks and a sob escapes. She shakes her head. “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“Okay, okay,” Carmilla says soothingly. “You don’t have to.”

Mattie scoffs and rolls her eyes. “Oh, _God_ ,” she sighs exasperatedly. “Look, I just came to make sure we didn’t have another dead body on our hands. We all know how carried away your mother can get.”

Carmilla’s head snaps around as she glares at Mattie. “Get _out_.”

Mattie looks amused. “Very well, darling. I was merely concerned about your wellbeing. Since, clearly, she is jeopardizing that. But I guess we all see what we want to see.” She clicks her tongue. “Clearly this girl isn’t coherent enough to tell you, but the deal is that they’ve scared her enough that she won’t be telling her father anything.”

Carmilla looks bewildered and rises from the bed. “She _already_ wasn’t going to tell her father anything!”

Mattie shrugs. “Well, now _we’re_ sure of that.”

Carmilla shakes her head. “None of this was necessary! I had it handled.”

Mattie laughs and it sends shivers down Carmilla’s spine.

“‘Had it handled?’ Oh, my cute little monster. You befriended the _chief deputy’s_ daughter and were almost framed for two murders!  Why would we trust her?”

Carmilla clenches her jaw. “Out. Now.”

“Fine, fine,” Mattie says nonchalantly. She turns back around and flashes a large grin. “And just a gentle reminder not to call the police to report this or go to a hospital,” she orders lightly. “Goodnight, you sap.”

 

Carmilla waits until the door closes and the footsteps leave the porch before she sits back down beside Laura.

“I am so, _so_ sorry,” she says, allowing tears to fall.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Laura says immediately. She tries to push herself up into a sitting position, but she winces and a hand flies to her side.

Carmilla pauses her pity party and gently presses Laura’s shoulder so she lies back down.

“What are you sorry for?” Laura asks, strained.

Carmilla frowns. “I should’ve walked you home. I knew my mother was keeping an eye on you and I–– god, I was so _stupid_!”

“No!” Laura shakes her head. “Carm, you couldn’t have known.”

Carmilla gives her a dry laugh and a watery smile. “I let you walk home alone and _this_ happened to you. Stop consoling me.”

Laura pouts. “Sorry.”

“And don’t do that!” Carmilla says, louder and harsher than she intended.

Laura looks startled. “Do what?”

Carmilla sighs. “Looking all pitiful and sad. I already feel guilty and your adorable puppy act is making me feel worse.”

“Oh.” Laura bunches up her face and deepens her voice. “ **Is this better**?” She breaks character and offers Carmilla a small smile.

 

Carmilla almost melts on the spot.

“You’re an odd little dork.”

Laura shifts a bit. “Well, _that_ seems slightly rude. I _am_ horribly injured, you know,” she teases.

Carmilla’s eyes widen. “Right.” She goes to get a bowl of water and dampens the washcloth again. “Let’s get some of this gunk off of you and then we can assess from there, okay?”

Laura nods as Carmilla carefully dabs at the cuts on her face.

 

“They grabbed me less than a block from my house,” Laura says, almost inaudibly.

Carmilla doesn’t press her to continue, but she does.

“Just knocked me right out with a blow to my noggin. I woke up in some weird dark office building, but it was an empty room.”

Carmilla knows what Laura was talking about. She wishes she didn’t.

“They had all these really thin but sharp knives. And they would switch between those and just hitting me, threatening me if I took away your alibi and cursing me out for killing their friend.” Laura’s voice cracks and she winces as Carmilla moves onto the cuts on the rest of her body.

“I’m so sorry,” Carmilla whispers.

Laura offers her a small smile. “Now who’s looking pitiful and sad?”

Carmilla lets out a laugh and Laura joins in, until she lets out a pained gasp. Carmilla frowns and her fingers ghost the hem of Laura’s shirt.

 

“Can I…?”

Laura nods and Carmilla lifts the shirt.

“Holy shit.”

Laura glances down and her entire side is deeply bruised. Any recovery she made after the attack from Will is gone.

Carmilla shakes her head. “We need to get you to a hospital. There’s gotta be some kind of internal bleeding, or––”

“–– _No_ ,” Laura interrupts, using her whole body to protest and groaning at the effort. “Mattie, as callously as she said it, was right. If we go to a hospital, they’ll definitely report it to my dad.”

“I thought they only did that with gunshots,” Carmilla points out, working on cleaning the rest of Laura’s wounds.

“Normally, yeah. But the whole area knows my dad and knows I’m his daughter. Hell, one of the attendings at the hospital is my friend’s mother and another friend’s mother is a nurse there. If they find out, calling my dad is the first thing they’d do. And then that’d just get you into _more_ trouble––”

“Alright, just stop all of this,” Carmilla interrupts. “You can’t be seriously risking internal bleeding just to make sure I don’t get arrested for killing some corrupt cop?”

Laura shrugs.

 

Carmilla furrows her eyebrows. “I don’t understand you.”

“Well, uh, what’s confusing you?” Laura asks innocently.

“Your father is the chief deputy. I assume that means he raised you to respect the law. Making up an alibi for a murderer and the daughter of a local crime boss doesn’t seem very law-abiding,” Carmilla answers.

Laura sighs. “Remember how I was saying I was processing things?” Carmilla nods. “Another thing I had to process was facing the very real fact that there _are_ corrupt cops working with my dad. I mean, I guess I always felt like it was a possibility. But it’s like I always saw the world in black and white–– cops are the good guys, criminals are the bad guys.” She lets out a shaky breath. “But then I met you, who by all definitions are not a ‘good guy.’ But you haven’t actually _done_ anything bad. You’re just a girl who got stuck in a bad position. So if you can be a not-bad guy, then why can’t cops be not-good guys?”

Carmilla’s gazes at her softly. And in that moment, she feels so vindicated and validated for having decided in her mother’s office that Laura Hollis was someone worth protecting.

 

“So, yeah… No hospital,” Laura says, pushing herself up before Carmilla can stop her. She starts to swing her legs off the bed before Carmilla finally snaps herself out of whatever stupor she’s in.

“Hey, hey! Where are you going?” she asks, grabbing Laura’s arm.

“Home?” Laura says, confused. “Your mom’s thugs sorta just drove up to your porch and plopped me there, probably to deliver the message to you that I got my warning. But if I don’t head back to my place now, I’ll lose all motivation to do it later.”

Carmilla furrows her eyebrows and frowns. “You’re not going home.”

“Why not?”

Carmilla stutters and is at a loss for words for a few seconds. “B-Be-Because… if you _do_ have internal bleeding, you shouldn’t be alone,” she stammers out.

Laura looks at her skeptically.

“You shouldn’t be alone,” Carmilla repeats.

“Are you sure?” Laura asks, eyes narrowed. “Because I–I don’t _want_ to be alone, but I already kinda crashed into your otherwise peaceful night a few times––”

 

Carmilla rolls her eyes. “Laura, you’re staying. End of story.” She gets up and leaves the room, returning with a first aid kit.

After she finishes dressing as many of Laura’s cuts as she can, she rummages through some drawers and pulls out an old t-shirt and sweatpants.

“Do you want to change into something more comfortable?”

Laura starts to nod, but stops immediately.

“What?”

“Well, yeah, I do,” Laura begins slowly. “But with my ribs being jellified and everything, I’m not sure I can.”

Carmilla looks at her, perplexed. “Then what do you want to do?”

Laura blushes a bit. “Uhm, c-ca-can you help me change?”

“No,” Carmilla deadpans.

Laura pouts at her and she chuckles.

“I'm teasing, cutie.”

Laura lets out a small whine. “Carm, that is not funny. I'm super fragile right now,” she comments, but smirks and gives Carmilla a playful swat.

 

Carmilla gestures for Laura to stand and uses her hands to support Laura by the elbows, trying to ignore a tingling feeling like electricity that shoots through her body upon their contact.

Laura gives a nod of consent as Carmilla gently pops the button off Laura’s jeans and unzips them, slowly tugging them off. Carmilla grabs the sweatpants and tells Laura to rest her hands on Carmilla’s shoulders to steady herself while she pulls the pants up.

Laura’s breathing is starting to become pained and labored so Carmilla gently nudges her to sit back on the bed.

“Can you lift your arms?” Carmilla asks softly.

Laura tries but yelps.

“Okay, okay,” Carmilla rushes out, gently pushing Laura’s arms back down to her sides. “Good thing you wore a button-down today.”

Laura gives a grimaced grin. “Yeah.”

Carmilla un-does the buttons and brushes the maroon shirt open. She gapes again at the very colorful bruises blossoming across Laura’s abdomen.

And the fact that Laura has honest-to-god _abs_.

 

“Uhm, Carm?” Carmilla’s eyes snap up to meet Laura’s. “Kinda… making me feel self-conscious, here.”

“Sorry,” Carmilla mumbles, quickly working on sliding the top off and grabbing a navy blue button-up instead of the t-shirt she had previously gotten.

Laura giggles. “It’s fine.”

Carmilla slowly meets Laura’s eyes again. “You’re so, _so_ strong, Laura,” she says quietly but firmly.

“Yeah, sometimes at the gym I can even lift a twenty-pound weight,” Laura teases.

Carmilla narrows her eyes at her playfully before rolling her eyes. “I mean it. You’re so tough.”

Laura blushes. “You wanna talk strong? You’re going up against your mother.” She shrugs. “I mean, maybe not directly, but… you’re nothing like her and that’s already pretty strong.”

Now it’s Carmilla’s turn to blush. “Alright, go to bed, Laura.” She starts to turn to leave the bedroom.

 

“Wait!” Laura calls.

Carmilla turns around immediately, thinking something is wrong with Laura. “What’s the matter?” she asks, worried.

“Uhm… where are you going?” Laura asks nervously.

Carmilla points out into the living room. “To sleep on my couch?”

“Oh.” Laura shrugs. “We could share the bed? I mean, I don’t want to put you out…”

Carmilla chuckles. “Criminal constitution trumps being put out–– which you’re not doing, so it’s a moot point.”

Laura bites her lip.

“What is it?”

“It’s just… Well, I’ll be honest, I _really_ didn’t want to go home alone earlier. And being in here alone sorta feels like I might as well go home and be alone, anyway, you know? Like, if I’m gonna have someone with me to, ah, make sure nothing happens to me… maybe they should make sure nothing happens to me while being in the same room with me?”

Carmilla cocks her head to the side and furrows her brows in confusion.

“I’m asking you to sleep in this bed with me,” Laura mutters shyly. Her eyes widen at what she’s just said. “Unless you feel weird about it? Then I could totally go sleep on your couch instead, and you get to keep your bed, and it’s a win-win compromise––”

 

“––Whoa, okay, cupcake, take a breath,” Carmilla cuts in. “You’re not sleeping on the couch in your condition.” She sighs and walks over to the bed. “We can share the bed.”

Laura grins and it lights up her entire face, cuts and bruises and all.

She goes to move over so Carmilla has room on the bed, wincing a bit at the movement. Soon, they both settle in under the covers on their backs, not touching.

Laura reaches under the covers and grabs Carmilla’s hand. “Carm?”

“Yeah?” Carmilla tries to keep her voice steady in spite of the unexpected contact and instead intertwines their fingers.

“Thanks for taking care of me.”

Carmilla lets go of Laura’s hand and rolls over so she’s facing her. Laura’s head lolls to the side to meet her look as she blinks sleepily. “Thanks for not hating me,” Carmilla says, barely above a whisper.

Laura lets out a tired hum in response. After a few seconds, she mumbles, “I don’t think I could ever hate you,” followed soon by some light snoring.

Carmilla watches Laura sleep for a bit, peace evening out her features, before drifting off herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm writing the last chapter :D Can't wait to share the entirety of this story with you guys!  
> The next update for this fic will be in a couple days. Feel free to leave a comment or swing by and hit me up on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/)  
> Also FYI updates are tagged on tumblr as [#Carmilla sheriff AU](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/tagged/carmilla+sheriff+au).  
> <3


	9. Netflix and Chill. Just Netflix and Chill.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmilla spends the next day looking after Laura, trying to figure her out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *BAM* Happy New Year's Eve/Day, creampuffs! Here's some fluff ;)

Carmilla wakes up, slowly blinking away the sleep from her eyes. She vaguely remembers waking up a couple hours before, only to find the length of her body pressed up against Laura’s, an arm thrown over Laura’s waist. She had started to detach herself, but fell asleep before she could.

And now she was in the bed alone.

She sat up and listened, but didn’t hear any movement in the living room.

 _Did she leave?_ Carmilla frowned. As much as she’d like to pretend otherwise, that notion didn’t sit right with her at all. Not just because Laura’s life was potentially still in danger, but also because she couldn’t shake the thought that when she had woken up earlier, it was like their bodies fit together _perfectly_ and felt so _right_.

 _Ugh, Karnstein, Mattie’s right–– you’re a sap_.

 

She pushes herself out of the bed and trudges into the living room, which is indeed empty. As she starts to try to figure out whether Laura left of her own accord, she hears a muffled voice on the other side of her front door on her porch. She walks closer to it and strains to listen.

“ _Sorry… didn’t know you would drop by… am not home right now…_ ”

Carmilla smiles at hearing Laura’s voice and at her pause to obviously come up with a lie to whoever is on the other end of the call.

“ _Woke up early to go for a run…_ ”

There’s a loud sigh and Carmilla almost jumps when Laura apparently exasperatedly leans herself against the front door.

“ _No, dad, I’m still not changing my alibi for Carmilla_ ,” she says firmly.

There’s a bunch of huffs and grunts in the rest of Laura’s side of the conversation for a while.

Finally, Laura tries to cut in with a few but’s and wait’s.

“Dad _, I don’t know why we’re still talking about this! Carmilla is not a bad person or a cold-blooded murderer. I feel perfectly safe around her, I trust her, and if you don’t have faith in my judgment, then this conversation is_ over _._ ”

 

Carmilla backs away from the door when she hears Laura take a deep, shaky breath and open the door. Laura jumps a bit at seeing Carmilla just standing before her.

“Uh, hey,” Laura says, giving her a half-hearted smile. “I didn’t wake you up, did I?”

Carmilla shakes her head, unsure if she should bring up the conversation she was eavesdropping on.

“Good,” Laura says, flashing a brighter grin. “I made breakfast for us,” she says, pointing at the kitchen area. “Are you okay with spinach-and-cheese omelets?”

“Yuck,” Carmilla deadpans.

Laura narrows her eyes playfully. “Well, too bad, Karnstein. Go get washed up and I’ll heat everything back up.”

Carmilla smirks and does a mock salute before leaving the living room.

 

She comes back and settles into her kitchen table, which already has two plates and two mugs with coffee on it.

“Careful, cutie,” Carmilla begins, “keep this up and I’ll never let you leave.”

Laura takes her seat opposite Carmilla. “Maybe that’s the plan,” she teases.

Carmilla rolls her eyes and takes a bite out of the omelet. Her eyes widen as she chews.

“How’s it taste?” Laura asks, putting a piece of her own into her mouth.

“Terrible,” Carmilla teases.

Laura mocks offense. “I slaved over a hot stove just to be insulted like this?”

Carmilla chuckles. “In all seriousness, this tastes amazing, cupcake.” She takes another bite. “How early did you wake up? I didn’t have any of these ingredients…”

Laura giggles. “You’re telling me! If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were a vampire. Your fridge was so empty.”

Carmilla cuts her eyes at her but smirks, taking another bite of her meal.

 

“But yeah, I woke up a few hours ago,” Laura says, addressing Carmilla’s question. “Couldn’t sleep.”

Carmilla furrows her eyebrows together. “Why not?”

Laura averts her eyes. “Too much pain,” she says softly.

Carmilla’s look of confusion doesn’t fade away.

“My ribs hurt,” Laura explains simply.

Carmilla’s look of confusion turns to one of realization and concern. She recalls her memory from earlier with horror. “Wait… Was it because my arm was draped over your waist?”

Laura blushes but doesn’t reply as she continues eating.

“Laura, for fuck’s sake–– why didn’t you say something?” Carmilla retorts.

Laura flinches a bit.

 

Carmilla takes a deep breath and softens her tone. “I’m sorry. It’s just, why didn’t you wake me up and ask me to move my arm?”

Laura shrugs. “I already felt bad for crashing here, I didn’t want to wake you up on top of that.”

“Oh, Hollis, get over that, already,” Carmilla snaps, keeping only a slight edge to her voice. “You weren’t imposing on me. I woke up and realized I had my arm wrapped around you and started to move it but fell back asleep before I did. But if you had told me I was hurting you, I would’ve moved it.”

“Oh.” Laura finishes her meal and brings the two empty plates to the sink.

“Leave them,” Carmilla commands, and Laura does as asked. “And I’ll pay you back for the groceries.”

Laura starts to protest but Carmilla cuts her off with a glare.

“Okay, fine,” Laura says meekly, flashing a small smile. She clears her throat. “Well, I guess I should be going…”

“Oh.” Carmilla frowns.

Laura giggles. “What?”

 

Carmilla shrugs, her attempt at blasé failing epically. “I just thought maybe you’d want to stay since i-it’s a Sunday. Like, Netflix and chill?”

“You mean…?” Laura bunches up her face and _damn_ it’s adorable.

Carmilla lets out an exasperated sigh. “I mean, literally sit here and we watch Netflix together,” she mumbles, “or whatever.”

“You’re just trying to keep me around because of my cooking,” Laura grins.

Carmilla rolls her eyes. “We _could_ just order pizza later. No cooking required.”

“Carmilla Karnstein, you’ve got yourself a deal.” Laura sticks her hand out, beaming.

Carmilla looks down at it and back up at Laura.

“Shake on it?” Laura says.

Carmilla sighs and pivots to walk away from her. “You’re a dork, Hollis.”

 

~*~

 

They’re a few episodes into _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ , sharing a bowl of microwavable popcorn, and Carmilla is trying to fight a smile, because she can’t remember the last time she felt this relaxed and _normal_ with someone.

Which, of course, means she has to ruin it.

 

“Hey, buttercup?”

Laura slowly tears her eyes away from the screen to look at Carmilla. “Hmm?”

Carmilla swallows hard. “I overheard your conversation earlier, with your father.”

“Oh.” Laura’s eyes wander back to the screen.

 _Good going, Karnstein_.

“Were you going to tell me?”

“Tell you what?” Laura grabs some more popcorn and throws it into her mouth, still not looking at Carmilla, who sighs.

“Were you going to tell me _how much_ he was pressuring you to throw me under the bus?”

Laura shrugs. “It’s not a big deal. I can handle him.”

 

Carmilla regards the girl next to her, still puzzled how the chief deputy’s daughter wound up swimming in the gray area of the law–– and seemingly completely okay with it. Then again, Carmilla was nothing like her mother. While she was hardly an upstanding citizen, she didn’t have her mother’s innate sociopathic ability to flip a switch and murder someone without remorse.

“You’re creeping me out, Carm,” Laura comments. She glances over at Carmilla and laughs at her befuddled look. She slides the bowl of popcorn into her lap and shimmies closer to Carmilla. “What’s on your mind?”

Carmilla shakes her head with a small smile. “Just trying to figure you out.”

“I’m pretty much an open book, Carm,” Laura teases.

“I’m not doubting that, sundance. I just don’t know what page I’m reading.”

 

 ~*~

 

They watch a couple more episodes before Laura declares she wants a pizza. Carmilla, being a gracious host, let her pick all the toppings and orders it.

They put on another episode while they wait for the delivery.

Carmilla settles in on the couch, tossing her phone aside. “Did you mean what you said on the phone?”

“Which part?”

“That you feel safe around me and trust me,” Carmilla clarifies awkwardly.

Laura smiles warmly at her. “Duh.”

Carmilla gives her a skeptical look. Laura scoffs and rises slowly, minding her ribs, to go to the couch and get a couple cans of soda from Carmilla’s fridge, which she had also bought earlier.

“Do you think I would’ve slept here last night, stayed until you woke up, watched Netflix with you all day, and plan to stay for pizza if I didn’t trust you?”

“No, but––”

“Then I feel like logic dictates that I trust you,” Laura says smugly, offering Carmilla a can.

Carmilla takes it and offers her a shy smile back.

 

~*~

 

“Take the last slice,” Laura says, her eyes glued to the television screen.

“How did we even wind up with an odd number of slices?” Carmilla asks, scoffing.

“This last slice wasn’t cut all the way through.”

Carmilla sighs and rises, heading to the kitchen and returning with a knife. She cuts the last slice in half and offers one half to Laura.

Laura giggles. “You didn’t have to do that.”

Carmilla shrugs. “Didn’t want to be a bad host and let my guest starve.”

“Good looking out, Karnstein,” Laura says, nodding happily.

 

She shifts a bit on the couch, but winces at the motion and the hand not holding the pizza flies to her side.

“A-Are you okay?” Carmilla asks, sitting down beside her with her own slice.

Laura looks over and sees the worry etched into Carmilla’s face. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she answers quickly, taking another bite.

Carmilla continues staring at her as Laura continues the _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ episode.

After a few minutes, Laura sighs and pauses the episode. “What?” she asks lightly.

Carmilla averts her gaze.

Laura bunches up her face. “Carm, what is it?”

“I tried so hard to protect you,” Carmilla says softly. “And it didn’t work. Twice.”

Laura grabs Carmilla’s free hand with her own and squeezes it. “Carm, it’s not your job to protect me.”

“I know,” Carmilla says, giving her a small smile. “Doesn’t mean I don’t want to.”

“What happened to me isn’t on you–– either time,” Laura insists.

Carmilla sighs and bites her lip.

 

“Laura, can I ask you something?” she asks, her voice barely audible.

Laura nods. “Shoot.”

“Ar-Are we friends?” Carmilla’s voice is so small and vulnerable that it almost breaks Laura’s heart.

“Of course we are,” Laura responds sincerely. Her eyes widen. “Right?”

Carmilla nods shyly. “Right.”

“Okay… Cool.” Laura grins and squeezes Carmilla’s hand again. “Now come on, the last one to finish their pizza has to do the dishes!”

Carmilla watches as Laura shoves half the slice into her mouth, chewing with determination.

 

Laura still helps her dry the dishes.

 

 ~*~

 

At some point during their continuing marathon after dinner, they’ve wound up pressed flush against each other, with Laura’s head resting on Carmilla’s shoulder. Carmilla’s resting her own head on top of Laura’s, and their breathing has long since synchronized.

It isn’t until well past 3am that Carmilla realizes Laura has dozed off, her light snoring barely heard above the fighting sounds from the television.

 _She would probably be way better off sleeping in the bed_ , Carmilla surmises.

She slowly lifts her head and glances over at the sleeping form pressed up against her. For the umpteenth time, she finds herself silently vowing to protect her, even if it isn’t her job. In spite of all the crap life has been throwing Laura’s way, she doesn’t seem to have lost an ounce of her fire or innocence.

 _And I’m gonna keep it that way_.

 

Just as Carmilla starts formulating the best plan to wake Laura up, the girl jerks awake and jumps away from Carmilla, hyperventilating.

Carmilla starts to rush forward to grab Laura but pauses and simply rests a cautious hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, hey, hey. Laura, Laura!” Carmilla tries to get through to whatever shock she’s in, or at the very least, get her breathing under control. “Laura! Laura, it was just a dream.”

Laura blinks hard and seems to slowly calm down. “Just a dream?”

“Yeah.”

“Just a dream.” Laura takes a few deep breaths before speaking again. “Sorry about that.”

Carmilla chuckles dryly. “What are you even apologizing for?”

“I dunno, I feel like I really freaked you out,” Laura says sheepishly.

Carmilla gives her an annoyed look of disbelief before rising and offering Laura her hand. “You did no such thing. Come on, creampuff. Time for bed.”

Laura yawns and nods shakily. Carmilla turns off the television and soon they’re lying in the bed.

 

“And if at any point you need anything or you’re in pain, I want you to wake me up,” Carmilla says.

“Okey dokey,” Laura replies, eliciting a chuckle from Carmilla.

Carmilla settles in, lying on her side and facing Laura. “Good night, Laura.”

“Carm?”

“Hmm?”

“The dream I had… It…” Laura swallows hard. “I know I said it’s not your job to protect me, but I’m glad you are.”

Carmilla offers her the warmest smile she can.

Laura smiles back. “Good night, Carm.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this little update! Feel free to leave a comment or swing by and hit me up on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/)  
> Also FYI updates are tagged on tumblr as [#Carmilla sheriff AU](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/tagged/carmilla+sheriff+au).  
> <3


	10. Sacred Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laura drags Carmilla out of the house for some friendly bantering, which is interrupted by a particularly overly-protective best friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SURPRISE! Decided to drop another chapter for holiday spirit and all that :D  
> This chapter has a few more references to the series (I might've had writer's block while I was writing it? Can't remember lmao) and more of them being dorks.  
> Also... with regards to the "Netflix and chill" reference in the last chapter, I have zero inclination to make the fic's rating any higher than a **Teen and Up** especially since I'm already working on the last chapter but, uhm... if you guys want something message me on the side and we'll figure something out LOL

“Carm,” Laura grumbles.

Carmilla’s brain vaguely registers that Laura’s front is pressed up against her own, with Laura’s arm lazily draped over Carmilla’s hip and her head tucked under Carmilla’s chin.

“Carm,” Laura tries again, her breath tickling Carmilla’s neck.

Carmilla groans. “What?”

“It’s Monday morning,” Laura mumbles.

“Thank you for that information,” Carmilla snaps.

Laura gently pushes Carmilla’s shoulder. “We have class.”

Carmilla clamps a hand over Laura’s mouth. “Shh. Sleep now. Be annoying later.”

 

Laura pulls her face away and huffs, rolling herself over slowly and sitting up.

“Cupcake, where are you going?” Carmilla honest-to-God _whines_ , and Laura giggles.

“ _I_ am going to class,” Laura replies. “Not all of us have mothers who are crime lords and can intimidate my major’s faculty.”

“I can change that,” Carmilla insists. “I can have my mother intimidate them over your grades, too.”

Laura rolls her eyes with a chuckle. “That’s unethical. Considerate, but unethical. No, I couldn’t do that. An A is a sacred trust.”

“Ethics are a ridiculous game played by children who think they can impose order on an arbitrary universe,” Carmilla states grumpily, sitting up.

Laura gives her a smirk. “Yeah, but what can you do but try?”

Carmilla looks at her in silence for a few seconds, as if taken aback by her reply. Then she shakes her head. “This is too profound and deep of a conversation to be having this early.”

“You started it, Philosophy Major,” Laura teases.

Carmilla grumbles something unintelligibly, flops forward on her bed towards Laura, and wraps her arms around Laura’s waist.

 

Laura giggles. “What are you _doing_?”

“Using all of my willpower to keep you from leaving to go to class,” Carmilla mumbles.

Laura wriggles her way out and laughs. “Well, you failed, Karnstein. Sorry. But thank you for looking after me this weekend.”

She starts to walk out of the room.

“You know… there is another option here,” Laura states smugly.

Carmilla looks up and raises an eyebrow quizzically.

“You could… come to class _with_ me…”

“ _No_.” Carmilla shakes her head emphatically. “No, I will _not_ go to class with you.”

 

~*~

 

“I cannot believe you dragged me to class with you,” Carmilla grumbles.

“I didn’t even _drag_ you,” Laura retorts.

“Well, you basically did. I was in a weakened state of _being sleepy_. You took advantage of that and dragged me to this hellhole.”

Laura rolls her eyes. “Relax, grumpy puss. It’s almost over.”

“Well, thank goodness for that. I was afraid time had stopped moving forward just in this classroom.”

“I merely suggested it once and was about to say if you didn’t want to, I would just borrow your car since… Your mom’s employees were _so_ kind they gave me a lift,” Laura points out as the professor dismisses them.

She scoffs and stands once she’s collected her things.

“And then you just volunteered yourself as tribute. It’s like if someone was sleeping in my bed and I were to yawn and you just volunteered to sleep on the floor, or something.”

Carmilla narrows her eyes in a playful glare. “That’s just stupid, Hollis,” she says holding the door for Laura. “Why would I do something like that?”

 

Laura giggles. “It was just an example. Maybe in some universe out there, you would.”

“That sounds like a horrible universe,” Carmilla says flatly.

“Well, since we’re living in _this_ universe,” Laura continues brightly, “wanna get lunch together?”

“You’re not sick of me yet?” Carmilla teases.

“No,” Laura answers, almost immediately. Her eyes widen. “Wait, are you sick of me?” she pouts. “Oh, gosh! You totally are, aren’t you? I’m just the sad case that got plopped on your front porch and you felt guilty and took care of me out of pity, except now I’m the sad case that doesn’t know when she needs to go and you’re too nice to tell me that––”

Carmilla grabs Laura by the shoulders, effectively cutting her off. “Whoa, whoa, cupcake,” she interrupts. “Take a breath.”

Laura nods and inhales deeply.

“Listen, cutie. I don’t pity you or think you’re a sad case. You’re way stronger than anyone I’ve ever met.” Carmilla lets go of Laura and grins. “Besides, if I wanted you to leave me alone, you’d know it. Believe me. Okay?”

Laura nods again, looking relieved. “So, lunch?”

“Sounds good to me.”

Laura beams at Carmilla and she cracks a small smile back. “Oh, and Carm? I’m not sick of you, either. In case that wasn’t obvious.”

Carmilla’s smile grows. “Glad to hear it, buttercup.”

 

~*~

 

“You eat like a slob,” Laura says, actually horrified.

Carmilla shrugs. “You didn’t have any problems with my eating habits yesterday.”

“That’s because you didn’t eat like a slob yesterday.”

Carmilla grins and tosses a fry at Laura’s face. Laura swats it away and giggles, picking up a cookie crumb and flicking it at Carmilla. It lands in her lap and Carmilla frowns down at it.

“Aww, do you need a bib?” Laura jokes, earning another glare from Carmilla.

“Ha, _ha_. Laugh it _up_ , Hollis.”

 

“Laura?” a voice from behind Carmilla says.

Danny walks over to Laura, her mouth open.

“What _happened_ to you?”

“Huh?” Laura looks confused for a moment, then remembers all the cuts and bruises across her face. “Oh, a bookcase fell on me.”

Carmilla gives her a befuddled look, but Danny merely scoffs.

“Again?”

Carmilla lets out a loud cackle. “‘ _Again_?’ Geez, cupcake, how accident-prone _are_ you?”

Laura pouts.

 

“So, how was your weekend?” Danny asks.

Laura gives her a weird look but answers anyway. “Fine. Yours?”

“The party was fun,” Danny replies vaguely. She bites her lip and they look at each other expectantly. “Look, your dad called me and asked what’s going on with you.”

Laura’s eyes widen. “What?”

“Well, he said he dropped by yesterday and you weren’t home.” Laura looks at Danny expectantly, so Danny sighs. “Where were you?”

Laura’s jaw drops. “ _What_?”

“ _Where were you?_ ” Danny fires back. “Were you with…” She narrows her eyes at Carmilla. “… _her_?”

Carmilla starts to answer, but Laura cuts her off. “So what if I was?”

Danny sighs. “Laura––”

 

“Are you jealous?” Laura demands, getting ready to stand up while glaring at Danny. “Is that it?”

“No, that’s not–– I just wish you’d called me before you went over there.”

“It’s not your job to keep me safe!”

“Yes, it is!” Danny yells, not caring that they’re making a scene in the middle of the diner. “You’re my ex, yeah, but you’re also my _best friend_.”

“Oh, no, don’t you dare try to play that card with me right now,” Laura growls. “Tell me, is it dark in there, up my dad’s ass?”

Danny’s eyes widen and Carmilla lets out an impressed chuckle.

 

“Look, Danny,” Laura takes a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. “You’re my best friend, too. But if you’re going to jump every time my dad asks you to, or panic every time I go to someone’s home to hang out, then I think we both need to take a step back.”

Danny clenches her jaw. “I just wanted to know where you were.”

“I was with Carmilla,” Laura replies. “Do you have a problem with that?”

“Your dad said your car was at your place,” Danny states.

Laura swallows hard. “The bookcase fell on me and Carmilla drove over to take me to the hospital but I kicked up a fuss because I didn’t wanna worry my dad. So instead she took me to her place to keep an eye on me in case I had like, a concussion or something.”

Carmilla quirks an eyebrow but remains silent.

“You slept over at her place?” Danny asks, furrowing her eyebrows together.

“Two nights in a row, in fact,” Carmilla finally speaks, smugly.

 

Danny shoots her a dirty look and grabs Laura’s arm, gently pulling her from the table, away from Carmilla. Carmilla looks at Laura, knowing that there are far worse injuries than what Danny can see, but Laura meets her gaze and gives her a small head shake, so Carmilla remains seated.

Danny sighs. “Look, Laur, your dad told me about Carmilla’s… _associations_.”

“Of course he did,” Laura groans.

“I really don’t think you should be getting involved in all that,” Danny continues, raising her voice a bit as the irritation returns.

Laura shakes her head and raises her voice, too. “And _I’m_ saying I don’t care what you think about Carmilla.”

“Is being friends with her really worth it?” Danny scoffs.

“Yes. Yes, it is,” Laura states, walking away from Danny. “You can tell _my dad_ if he’s so worried about me spending time with Carmilla Karnstein, he can take it up with me himself.”

 

Danny shakes her head and leaves the diner while Laura rejoins Carmilla at the table.

Laura braces herself for some sarcastic or snide comment.

“You okay?” Carmilla asks softly.

“Yeah.” Laura cocks her head to the side.

“What?”

“I was expecting some kind of inappropriate remark?”

Carmilla smiles, but not her usual smirk. This smile is smaller and seems more genuine, albeit more shy. “Do you really think my friendship is worth it?”

Laura throws her head back in a laugh. Carmilla’s smile disappears and as she looks startled.

“Oh, Carm,” Laura says, resting her hand on top of Carmilla’s.

She gives Carmilla a reassuring smile, and Carmilla’s grin returns.

“Of course it is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next update for this fic will still be tomorrow! Feel free to leave a comment or swing by and hit me up on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/)  
> Updates are tagged on tumblr as [#Carmilla sheriff AU](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/tagged/carmilla+sheriff+au).  
> Stay awesome and Happy New Year! <3


	11. Bail Me Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laura and Carmilla go back to Laura's place to find it's been broken into by someone with a threat to make

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to thank anyone who's dropped a comment or messaged me on tumblr so far! You're all amazing <3

“Popcorn hog,” Laura teases.

“ _Excuse you_ ,” Carmilla says, mocking offense. “You’re the one who kept the bucket in her lap the whole movie!”

“That’s because if it was remotely tilted in your direction, I would blink and half of it would go missing,” Laura snaps as they turn the corner leading to her house.

“Are you sure when you thought you were blinking, you weren’t actually sleeping?” Carmilla drawls.

Laura giggles and playfully swats her.

They walk up to her front steps and stop.

 

“You really didn’t have to walk me home, Carm,” Laura says, her joking tone replaced with sincerity.

“Hollis, you have a propensity for getting every square inch of your tiny body kicked whenever you’re left alone,” Carmilla replies with a smirk. “Plus, it was an excuse to spend more time with you.”

“Well, if you want another excuse… “ Laura blushes. “Do you want to come in? There’s a great Chinese take-out place we can order from.”

Carmilla nods and gestures for Laura to go first. “Lead the way, cutie.”

Laura walks up the stairs and goes to unlock the door, but it’s already cracked open. Her eyes widen as she pushes the door open all the way and starts to step in. Carmilla grabs her by the arm.

“Are you suicidal? Your house just got broken into and you’re just gonna walk in?”

Laura bites her lip and nods. “Well, yeah. If it has something to do with your mother, calling any cops will alert my dad and that’ll just start to unravel all the lies I’ve been telling.”

She gently pulls her arm free and steps into the house, turning the lights on.

 

“My, my, you do not learn your lesson, do you?” speaks a voice from an armchair.

Carmilla steps in front of Laura protectively before she recognizes the voice. Her eyebrows furrow together. “Will?”

He settles into the chair with a self-satisfied smirk. “I’m out on bail, courtesy of your mother.”

Laura tries to step around Carmilla, but she holds out an arm and keeps Laura in place behind her.

“Speaking of your mother, I’m pretty sure she told me you two were to stay out of each others’ lives,” Will continues smugly.

“Then why did she have me dropped off at Carmilla’s?” Laura demands. Carmilla nods, having had the same question.

“Wow, come _on_ you two,” Will remarks. “She was hoping that it would scare Carmilla enough to leave you alone, and hoping it would make you so angry at Carmilla for dragging you into this whole mess that you’d cut ties with her.”

Laura and Carmilla look at each other.

“Clearly it didn’t work,” Will surmises.

“Why are you even here?” Laura asks, stepping around Carmilla, who stiffens but doesn’t move to block Laura again since there doesn’t seem to be any danger at the moment.

 

“Well, I _was_ going to threaten you with more bodily harm,” Will says, grinning widely. “But now that I see you two are defying the wishes of both the chief and the Dean, I have another idea.”

He stands up and walks over to Laura, sneering down at her. “You drop the charges, and I won’t tell the Dean that you two are still spending time together.”

Carmilla shakes her head. “No.”

Laura gives her a look as if she’s considering the deal.

“ _No_ ,” Carmilla says, more urgently. “You can’t!”

 

“I should probably add that if you don’t drop the charges, I’ll also tell your father about this.” Will looks absolutely devious.

“Laura, as long as Will is walking around, you’re not safe,” Carmilla says, ignoring the glare from Will.

“I won’t hurt you,” he says, a semblance of sincerity in his voice. “Wouldn’t want to do anything else to jeopardize my freedom, would I?”

“Laura, you can’t be seriously thinking about this,” Carmilla says desperately.

Laura sighs and looks at Will. “Can you give us a minute?”

He shrugs, walks around them and out the front door.

 

“Carm, if he tells your mother, she’ll be furious with you. And if he tells my dad, it’ll just add more fuel to the fire in his vendetta against you. I don’t _want_ to drop the charges, but I can’t risk either your mother or my dad doing something to you.”

“My mother won’t hurt me,” Carmilla insists. “Besides, wouldn’t it look more suspicious that you’re dropping the charges?”

Laura frowns. “So, what? You really want Will to tell your mom _and_ my dad that we’re–– that we’re still friends?”

Carmilla sits down on the couch, burying her face in her hands and sighing. “No.”

“Look,” Laura says, sitting down next to her. “I’ll tell him that Will came here after he made bail and explained to me he was really upset about his friend dying, and he wasn’t thinking clearly. And that I don’t feel like I’m in danger.”

Carmilla raises an eyebrow. “He’ll buy that?”

Laura shrugs. “To be fair, I have a record for being super honest with him.” She gives Carmilla a small smile. “Until now.”

 

“I don’t want you doing anything that makes you uncomfortable just for me,” Carmilla says softly, averting her eyes.

“Hey,” Laura says gently, poking Carmilla in the arm to make her look at her again, albeit reluctantly. “I haven’t done a single thing I regret when it comes to you.”

Carmilla looks slightly shocked at Laura’s comment and seems rendered speechless for a bit. “Laura––”

Will opens the front door and sighs. “Did you convince her, yet?” he asks Laura, who nods. “Good. Let’s go,” he says, directing his command to Carmilla. He lets out a yawn as he stretches, revealing a tattoo on his side.

Carmilla quirks an eyebrow. “Where?”

 

Will smirks. “This trip actually killed two birds with one stone. I came here to pay the lovely Ms. Hollis a visit, and then I was supposed to pick you up for a meeting with your mother.”

Carmilla looks at Laura and gives her a half smile. “Rain check on the Chinese take-out?”

Laura nods and leads Carmilla to the door as Will pivots and heads out. He lingers in the doorway as Carmilla walks past him.

“You know, there was another solution to this predicament,” he says smugly. “You both could’ve just stopped spending time together.”

Carmilla and Laura share a befuddled look, which causes Will to laugh and go to his car.

“You know that was never a thought in my head, right?” Laura asks.

Carmilla cocks her head to the side, confused.

“To stop spending time with you,” Laura clarifies. “You’re too fun to hang out with. I had an awesome time tonight. You deserve better than me messing all that up just because our parents are buttfaces.”

Carmilla seems taken aback, but recovers and smiles. “Same here, cutie. Looks like we’re stuck with each other.” She turns and does a small wave before walking away.

 

Laura stands in the doorway and watches them drive away before closing the door and sighing. .

Why hadn't cutting off this friendship with Carmilla been a thought? As cold as it sounds, they had only known each other for a few weeks. Even with his overbearing personality, Laura had never lied to her father before. Now it seemed like every word out of her mouth to him was some fudged version of the truth. And she had lied to Danny, which was also unprecedented.

And yet, she meant it when she said Carmilla was worth it, and that she deserves more than to be thrown aside like some monster, just because of her mother.

Her rap sheet may not be squeaky clean, but to be fair, Laura knew Zetas with a longer, more nefarious track record. Burying the body of a cop aside, Carmilla seemed so warm and kind. And the fact that apparently the thought to cut off their friendship hadn't occurred to Carmilla either was indicative of that.

 

Wait.

 

Laura’s mind flashes back to Will’s tattoo. She’d seen that tattoo somewhere else. But where?

Her eyes widen. The autopsy photos.

The cop Carmilla killed had the same tattoo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fic will update in a couple days! Feel free to leave a comment or swing by and hit me up on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/)  
> Updates are tagged on tumblr as [#Carmilla sheriff AU](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/tagged/carmilla+sheriff+au).  
> Stay awesome! <3


	12. Lead the Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laura drags Carmilla out to confirm her suspicions, but it only raises more questions

Carmilla is lying on her bed, trying to will herself to fall asleep. Will had remained true to his word and didn't tell her mother anything about her and Laura staying friends against her wishes. He had simply said he stopped by Laura’s home and “convinced” her to drop the charges.

Her mother had only wished to ask Carmilla if she knew anything about a cop who had apparently also been found in the ditch with their acquaintance. Carmilla said she didn't.

But that's not what's keeping Carmilla awake.

No, that'd be the fault of one particular spunky cupcake.

 

Carmilla groans. How had this tiny ball of annoying energy squeezed into her mind like this? Was it when she got dropped off at her house, beaten and bruised, to teach both of them a lesson? Was it when Laura insisted to her dad several times she had an alibi for the night both of them buried bodies? Or was it before all of that, from the moment that dork dropped a body into the hole she dug and then looked so adorably flustered that Carmilla didn't have the heart to tell her to get her own hole?

As much as her mother loved her, Carmilla always felt like a tool she used as a means to an end. She was often the alibi for any one of her mother’s employees. Or as bait because really, who could resist kidnapping the young, vulnerable child of a crime syndicate leader?

 

But here was Laura Hollis, daughter of the chief deputy, telling Carmilla over and over again that she was not on the hook for all of her mother’s sins, that she was her own person, a person that deserved more than this world had given her. No one had ever told Carmilla this—not even Ell or Mattie. But with Laura, it all seemed so attainable and believable.

No wonder why kicking her out of her life was never an option.

 

As if on cue, Carmilla’s phone rings. She glances at it and smiles, answering it. “Miss me already?”

“Carm?” Laura asks, her voice fragile.

Carmilla’s eyes widen. “Cupcake? Are you okay?” She swallows hard. “D-Did my mother—”

“I'm fine,” Laura answers. “Well, not _fine_ -fine, but I—Look, are you busy right now? I have a theory but I don't think I can try proving it on my own without you right now.”

Carmilla raises an eyebrow. “I'm not busy. Where do you want me to meet you?”

“The morgue.”

 

* * *

 

 

“This is kind of an odd place to hang out, even for you,” Carmilla retorts as she approaches Laura, who rolls her eyes.

She uses a key to unlock a door on the side of the building.

Carmilla stares at her. “You have a key to the morgue?”

Laura shushes her and they enter the dark hallway. They walk down it in silence for a bit until they turn the corner.

And bump right into someone.

Carmilla lets out a curse and tries to pull Laura back, but she shrugs her off and waves at the person, who has now turned around.

“Thanks for the keys, LaF,” Laura says sweetly.

The redhead laughs and takes them from Laura. “Took you long enough, Hollis. My mom’s gonna think I have bladder problems or got lost down here.” They nod their head at Carmilla. “You, uh, take all your dates to my mom’s office?”

“I-it's not a date,” Laura stammers out. Carmilla makes a sound like she's offended and Laura ignores her. “It's a long story.”

“Right, well… One day you'll have to tell me,” they say with a wink.

Laura grins. “Absolutely. And you understand the plan, right?”

 

“Distract my mom until you give the all-clear signal,” LaF replies, pointing at Laura’s phone.

Laura nods. “I owe you.”

LaFontaine laughs as they start to head up the staircase. “Just don't go around bringing anyone back from the dead.”

Laura laughs. “I'll try to curb those urges.”

 

Once their footsteps are out of earshot, Laura starts to lead Carmilla down another hallway. “We should be fine. LaFontaine’s mom doubles as a doctor in the hospital when they need it and is the only one here this late. As long as they keep her preoccupied, we’ll be in the clear.”

“For what?” Carmilla asks, grabbing Laura by the elbow. “You still haven't told me what we're doing here.”

Laura glances down at Carmilla’s grip on her elbow, and Carmilla immediately lets go. She leans against the wall. “That tattoo that Will has on his side… What is it?”

Carmilla furrows her eyebrows together. “It's a tattoo my mom’s employees all get. It's an anglerfish, for the Lophiiformes gang.”

Laura nods, biting her lip. “That's what I thought.”

Carmilla frowns. “Why are you asking about it?”

 

“I saw the cop’s autopsy report,” Laura sighs. “My dad showed it to me to try and convince me to change my alibi.”

Carmilla stiffens. “Laura…”

“Anyway,” Laura continues, shaking her head dismissively. “I saw something but I don’t know if I'm remembering correctly.” She playfully nudges Carmilla. “And I figured I'd be easier to believe if you saw it with me.”

Carmilla’s still confused but gives Laura a small smile. “Fine. Lead the way, m’lady.”

Laura nods and they walk down a few hallways before stopping at one room and opening the door. Laura scans over a few of the drawer labels before taking a deep breath. “Found Officer Kay,” she says. “Are you ready?”

Carmilla nods.

Laura pulls it open and they stare at the body for a few moments in silence. Laura’s the first to react, walking away to get two pairs of gloves and handing one to Carmilla. She snaps hers on and carefully pulls back the sheet until it reaches his waist.

 

Carmilla sucks in a breath.

“Holy hufflepuff,” Laura exhales.

The cop has the same tattoo on his side—the tattoo of an anglerfish.”

  

* * *

 

 

“Yeah, thanks again, LaF,” Laura says into her phone as Carmilla and her walk towards her house. “You're the best.”

She hangs up and looks over at Carmilla, who's been silent ever since they left the morgue.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

Carmilla glances at her but her eyes dart back to the ground.

“Look, you already pointed out to me that there are corrupt cops working under my dad. I guess we shouldn't be surprised the one you killed was also corrupt,” Laura says gently.

Carmilla continues to not speak and Laura pouts, stepping in front of her.

“But that's not what you're upset about, is it?”

Carmilla finally meets her eyes and shakes her head.

“You're upset coz if this guy worked for your mom and tried to kill you…” Laura shakes her head. “Carm, I don't think your mom hired this guy to kill you.”

Carmilla scoffs. “What makes you so sure of that?”

 

Laura places her hands on Carmilla’s shoulders. “Your mom loves you, okay? If she wanted to kill you, she wouldn't have gone through all this trouble to keep you away from me after Officer Kay failed. She wanted you away from me to keep you safe, just like why my dad wanted me to stay away from you. She wouldn't care about your safety if she ordered this hit.”

Carmilla swallows hard but nods.

Laura seems satisfied and lets Carmilla go, and they start walking again.

Carmilla lets out a laugh after a couple minutes and Laura almost jumps. “What?”

“You're the only person I know that would somehow find the good in my mother,” Carmilla comments, shaking her head. “You're ridiculous.”

Laura gives her a smirk. “And maybe, deep down, that's kinda what you like about me, isn’t it?”

Carmilla rolls her eyes at the statement and bumps her with her shoulder.

 

They walk in silence until they reach Laura’s house, walking in together.

“Are you gonna tell your dad?” Carmilla asks, sitting on Laura’s couch.

Laura shakes her head.

“Why not?”

Laura gives a dry laugh. “‘Uhm, gee-- dad, feel like hearing my super-vague theory on corruption in your office tonight?” She cups her hand around her ear. “Oh, what’s that? --No? Okay... And you’ll send a squad car of probably-corrupted deputies to protect me.” She does a swift nod in mock affirmation.

Carmilla smirks at the little dork.

“Look, until we know for sure who he can and can’t trust, I don’t want him on the job constantly looking over his shoulder, especially since he doesn’t even seem to be the target.” Laura huffs. “Are you gonna ask your mom what’s going on?”

Carmilla bites her lip for a few seconds and then shakes her head. “I don’t make waves with my mother. And if you’re right and she didn’t send that cop to kill me, then there’s no point. It’d just backfire on us in some way. Trust me.”

 

Laura nods. “I do.”

She flops back dramatically against the couch.

“So, it’s just gonna be our little secret?” Laura asks, batting her eyelashes at Carmilla.

“Guess so, sundance,” Carmilla grins. She starts to stand up and stretches. “And since it’s getting more late than I’d like, I’m going to go home and go to bed.”

“Wait,” Laura says, making Carmilla turn around. “Tomorrow’s Wednesday. Are you going to class in the morning?”

“I wasn’t planning on it…” Carmilla replies.

“I’ll be there,” Laura comments sweetly.

“Fine, I’ll be there,” Carmilla growls, trying to ignore how quickly she changed her mind.

Laura definitely notices anyway and laughs. “My point was going to be… Sleep here tonight.”

Carmilla quirks an eyebrow.

“We’ll be going to the same class, and…” Laura beams at her. “You’ll get more sleep if you stay here instead of going _all_ the way back to your house.”

Carmilla starts to answer that it wouldn’t take long to go back, but Laura’s still rambling.

 

“I mean, I know you might sleep better in your own bed, in your own place, but I was gonna also offer to make you breakfast to sweeten the pot and–– oh gosh, never mind this was all so inappropriate and presumptuous––”

“–– _Laura_ ––” Carmilla grabs Laura’s wrist and gives it a small shake, which cuts her off mid-ramble. “Fine. I’ll stay the night.”

Laura grins. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Carmilla chuckles. “I was kinda sold before the whole breakfast thing, too.”

 

By the time Carmilla’s changed into the PJs Laura handed her–– they’re surprisingly comfortable–– Laura’s already in bed, smiling at her like a doofus.

Carmilla climbs into the bed and Laura pats her on the leg. “So, I was thinking––”

“–– _Shocker_ ––”

“ _I was thinking_ that maybe on Friday night we could go to this carnival they have on the boardwalk,” Laura continues. “Since you’re new here and everything.”

Carmilla raises an eyebrow. “Not really worried about making friends here, cupcake.”

“I’ve figured that much out, Oscar the Grouch,” Laura teases. “But is the Oh-So-Cooler-Than-Thou Carmilla Karnstein above a little fun with _moi_?”

“I came out to have a good time and I’m honestly feeling so attacked right now.” Carmilla narrows her eyes at her playfully. “If I had known I was staying to be _insulted_ , I would’ve just gone home.”

Laura lets out a loud gasp and clutches her heart. “You wound me.”

Carmilla shoves her. “Oh, _shut up_. I’ll come to the stupid carnival with you, cupcake.”

 

“Yay!” Laura lets out a squeal and turns out the light, wriggling into a comfortable position on the bed.

Carmilla follows suit and sighs, and they wind up facing each other. “My bed is more comfortable,” she grumbles with a pout.

“Keep it up and you won’t get breakfast,” Laura taunts, bunching up her face in annoyance.

Carmilla laughs. “Good night, Laura.”

Laura’s eyelids fluttered closed. “G’night… Carm…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next update will be in a couple days! Feel free to leave a comment or swing by and hit me up on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/)  
> Updates are tagged on tumblr as [#Carmilla sheriff AU](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/tagged/carmilla+sheriff+au).  
> Thanks for reading and stay awesome! <3


	13. The Cupcake and the Star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmilla and Laura go to a carnival, where extreme fluff ensues. They come to an agreement about their relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *flinging fluff @ u*

Carmilla runs a hand through her hair and tries to calm down.

_It’s just a carnival, Karnstein._

_You’ve just been so starved for friendship you’re mistaking the first one you’ve had in ages for a crush._

_You’re just going to a carnival._

_With a friend._

 

 _That’s_ a lie.

 

 _If_ she was being honest with herself, whatever these not-platonic feelings for Laura are started way before Wednesday morning.

But she’s Carmilla Karnstein, and she’s survived this long simply by sticking her head in the sand.

That is, until she met Laura Hollis.

 

Laura Hollis, who sees her as a whole person and keeps her around anyway. Laura Hollis, whose smile lights up an entire room, and whose laughter lights up Carmilla’s entire soul.

Laura Hollis, whose house she’s been standing outside of for almost ten minutes.

_Maybe I got the time wrong?_

She starts to pull out her phone when she hears a crash from inside. Her eyes widen as she throws open Laura’s front door without hesitation.

Laura jumps, almost dropping the phone she’s pressed against her ear.

 

“Ar-Are you okay?” Carmilla asks, seeing a pile of books knocked onto the floor.

Laura gives her a curt nod but rolls her eyes, directed at whoever is on the other end.

“Dad, it’s my decision to drop the charges! Will, he–– he’d just lost a friend and wasn’t thinking clearly...”

 

A few moments go by before Laura’s eyes widen. “….I _know_ I made those plans with Danny, but I also _canceled_ on her on Tuesday, dad,” Laura grumbles. “If she wants to go to the–– you know what? Is she still there? Put her on the phone.”

Laura taps her foot impatiently for a few seconds.

“Danny, do you know how _manipulative_ it was to just show up to my dad’s–– Yes, it was! I told you on Tuesday I didn’t want to go with you to the carnival anymore–– _Because_ I’m sick of you thinking you know better than me about what I should or shouldn’t do! So until you can leave my dad out of _our_ friendship–– Just–– If you want to go to the _damn carnival_ so badly, _go_!” Laura growls and hangs up, throwing her phone into her couch.

 

She sits down beside it and buries her face in her hands, and takes a deep, shaky breath.

Carmilla feels her heart break and sits down beside her. She gives it a few seconds before she sighs. “Alright, just stop all of this before I get queasy.”

Laura looks up from her hands and blinks her wet eyes at her in surprise.

Carmilla nudges her. “Cupcake, you are _ridiculous_ and headstrong and naïve and that whole friendship with Danny seems doomed, okay? But unless want to miss this stupid carnival you haven’t shut up about for _days_ , stop this misplaced self-pitying, pick your cute little butt up, and let’s go.” She stands and offers Laura a hand.

Laura sniffles and Carmilla checks the urge to sit back down and hug her. Instead, Laura takes her hand and stands up.

Laura takes a shaky breath, but a small smile makes its way onto her face. “You ready for me to win you a stuffed animal, Karnstein?”

  

* * *

 

 

“If you keep this up, you’re going to be _made_ of cotton candy,” Carmilla says, rolling her eyes.

Laura takes another chomp out of her third cotton candy cone. “Don’t challenge me, Carm. I’d totally love being made of cotton candy.”

“Then who would drag me kicking and screaming to class?” Carmilla replies, not missing the grin this elicits from Laura.

Laura swings a small sack of popcorn in her other hand in front of Carmilla’s face. “Want some popcorn?”

Carmilla takes the bag but before she can fire off a witty retort, a voice behind them calls out, “Oh, I see how it is.”

 

Laura’s eyes widen as she spins around, faced with a very angry Danny.

“You canceled on me so you could go with Bonnie Parker over here?”

Carmilla scoffs. “Well, someone’s definitely not getting any of my popcorn,” she comments, chewing purposefully.

“Hello, Danny,” Laura says stiffly.

“Answer the question, Hollis,” Danny demands.

Laura glares at her. “I invited Carmilla _after_ I canceled our plans. Which I only did because we had a _fight_.”

“ _Because of her_ ,” Danny accuses.

“ _That’s not what_ ––” Laura groans. “Nope, forget it. You’re not hearing me out. We’re not doing this here, or tonight. Come on, Carm.” She grabs Carmilla’s hand and turns them around, tugging her along.

 

“The, uh, ginger Godzilla is still a-hollerin’ your name behind us, cutie,” Carmilla says, amused.

“She can call my name until the cows come home,” Laura grumbles. “And then she can call the cows’ names. I’m ignoring her because she is a poopy butthead and you’re not, so we’re gonna have fun like we were doing before she got all name-cally on us.”

Carmilla snorts and then chuckles. “You’re gonna call her out for name-calling, when you just called her a ‘poopy butthead?’”

“It wasn’t to her face,” Laura states indignantly. “Why? Do you want to go back there and deal with her?”

Carmilla shakes her head.

“That’s what I thought.” Laura angrily takes the last bite out of her cotton candy. “Come on. I want to shoot something.”

Carmilla grins, squeezing Laura’s hand, which hasn’t left hers since they stormed off. “Whatever you want, buttercup.”

 

* * *

 

“Shoot four under the time limit and you get a prize,” the guy working the station says to them.

Laura points at the rack of prizes. “Which one do you want?”

Carmilla smirks at her. “Oh, you’re gonna win me a stuffed animal, are ya?”

“I said I would, didn’t I?” Laura asks smugly.

Carmilla shakes her head, giving Laura a serious look. “Hon, I’m an independent criminal woman who don't need no stuffed animal.” Her smile quickly returns. “That, and I’ll win one for myself.”

Laura mocks offense. “ _Fine_ then, I’ll just win a stuffed animal for _myself_.”

“ _Fine._ ”

“ _Fine!_ ”

 

They stroll up to the counter and slamming down their money, taking their places at their water pistols mounted on the counter. The dude looks amused as he starts it up. “You’re up,” he says to Carmilla.

Carmilla’s mind flashes back to one of her mother’s random thugs handing her an actual gun in an abandoned field and teaching her how to shoot for a couple weeks during one summer vacation. She hits five of her targets, including two mobile ones, but misses one that’s moving faster than the other two.

“Nice shooting,” the guy remarks, clearly impressed.

Carmilla cackles in Laura’s face.

Laura bunches up her face and narrows her eyes at Carmilla. “Your turn,” he says to Laura.

 

Laura shoots quickly and accurately, hitting all six targets.

Carmilla’s mouth drops open and Laura blinks sweetly at her.

“H-How…?”

“Please, do you really think my dad didn’t have me at the gun range as soon as I was tall enough to see the targets over the barrier?”

Carmilla continues to stare at Laura, and the two of them slowly look over to the guy, who looks like he might pee his pants at the prospect of either of these two girls getting their hands on guns.

“Uhm, take whatever you want,” he offers with a nervous smile.

Laura giggles and looks back at Carmilla. “How about… we both whisper to him what we want to give each other?”

Carmilla’s recovered from her shock and nods. “Sounds fun to me.”

 

After a few seconds, the guy hands Carmilla a squishy cartoonish five-pointed star, and Laura a fluffy cupcake with a little cherry on top. They walk away so the next group of customers can take their spots.

Laura beams at Carmilla. “Oh, Carm, I love it!” She looks up from the adorable stuffed pastry and frowns when Carmilla doesn’t say anything. “Carm?”

Carmilla holds the star out in front of her with an unreadable expression on her face.

“Oh,” Laura says sadly. “You hate it don’t you? Leave it to me to pick a crappy stuffed thingy after you picked such a good one for me. Wh-Why don’t you tell me which one you want and we can swap it for another one? I know it won’t be the same as me guessing right on the first try, but I just really thought you would like it since you love the stars––”

“––Laura, I love it,” Carmilla says softly, her voice wavering.

Laura bites her lip and furrows her eyebrows together. “Are ya sure? Coz you seem really upset about it.”

Carmilla shakes her head, sniffling slightly. “It’s just–– I––” She clears her throat. “This is the most thoughtful present anyone’s ever given me.”

 

Laura cocks her head to the side and pouts at her, but doesn’t speak.

A few moments pass by before Carmilla takes a deep breath. “God, I’m a nostalgic idiot tonight,” she says with a watery chuckle. “What do you want to do next, cutie?”

Laura seems skeptical. “We could do something less… tear-inducing,” she suggests. “Ferris Wheel?”

Carmilla smiles and nods. “Let’s go.”

 

* * *

 

The walk to the ride was quiet, as well as the wait on line and the slow ascent. As they start to approach the top, Laura playfully nudges Carmilla with her shoulder. “Look, the light pollution is gone. You can see all the stars.”

Carmilla hums in response.

“Hey,” Laura says gently. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Carmilla nods.

Laura holds up her stuffed cupcake and wiggles it in front of Carmilla. “Are you _sure_?” she asks in a goofy voice.

Carmilla swallows hard. “I’m just… having a great time tonight, Laura.”

Laura pulls the cupcake back and smiles at her. “Good. Th-that’s good.” She wrings her hands together as she clutches the cupcake closer. “Carm?”

“Hmm?”

Laura starts to speak but cuts herself off. “Never mind.”

“ _Laura._ ”

 

“Is this a date?” Laura blurts out.

Carmilla’s eyes widen.

“Oh, gosh, it’s not,” Laura says, thumping her head backwards on the seat. “I was so sleepy when I asked you and then the next morning I realized I really wanted it to be a date but by then it was too awkward but i-it _feels_ like a date, and you’ve been looking at me all night like you want to eat me, so then I thought maybe I was interpreting those looks wrong and those were like, seduction eyes, but now––”

“––I’d like it to be,” Carmilla interrupts softly, averting her gaze.

“What?”

“I’d like it to be. A date,” Carmilla continues, her eyes slowly making their way back to Laura, and then down to her lips. “I’d _really_ like it to be.”

Laura’s mouth drops open and her eyes light up. “Really?”

Carmilla nods shyly, more bashful than Laura’s ever seen her.

“ _Really_ -really?”

“Really-really-really,” Carmilla replies with a chuckle.

 

They reach the top of the Ferris Wheel, but in spite of the beautiful sight below them, nothing seems to compare to staring into the other’s eyes.

Laura leans forward and Carmilla mimics her action, and they meet perfectly in the middle and their lips touch. The kiss starts out slow at first, but they both deepen it, with Carmilla’s hand going to the back of Laura’s neck, and Laura’s hand resting on Carmilla’s shoulder. In fact, they don’t even realize they’ve left the top and are on their descent until Laura finally pulls away to breathe.

“B-Been wanting to do that for a while,” Laura stammers.

Carmilla laughs. “Me too.”

“I’m glad we finally did,” Laura continues.

Carmilla nods.

They’re almost back down to the ground now.

 

“Carm…” Laura says, her voice shaking. “Will you be my girlfriend?”

Carmilla smiles so wide she fears her face might never recover, and nods. “Buckle up, creampuff. Coz I’m about to date the shit out of you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed it :D  
> Next update will be in a couple days! Feel free to leave a comment or swing by and hit me up on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/)  
> Updates are tagged on tumblr as [#Carmilla sheriff AU](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/tagged/carmilla+sheriff+au).  
> Stay awesome! <3


	14. Messy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmilla makes an admission to her mother. Laura has a surprise for Carmilla.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For everyone bracing themselves over Hollstein angst, I will give you the heads up now-- this fic will have very minimal angst in their relationship and focus more on how they have to interact with Laura's father and the Dean in mind :)  
> Enjoy!

Carmilla stands outside her mother’s office and takes a deep breath before knocking on the door.

“Yes?” a voice calls out from within.

“It’s me, mother.”

“Come in, darling.”

Carmilla takes another deep breath before turning the doorknob.

“Please, sit.” Her mother folds her hands on her desk. “What’s the matter?”

Carmilla chews her lip and takes a seat.

 

 _Do it for Laura. Hell, do it for yourself_.

“I wanted to talk to you about Officer Kay,” Carmilla starts slowly.

“Ah, yes. What about him?”

“I… didn’t recognize the name when you brought him up the other day,” Carmilla says. “But it hit me yesterday that I had seen his name somewhere. It was on a police report.”

“Why were you looking at police reports?” the Dean asks sternly.

“Laura had some at her place back when I was hanging out with her,” Carmilla replies smoothly. She sighs and looks down at her hands in her lap. “Mother, I… haven’t told you everything.”

The other woman purses her lips and quirks an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“A couple weeks ago, I was home and… Officer Kay attacked me,” she says quietly, slowly meeting her mother’s eyes. “I killed him in self defense.”

For once, Lilita Morgan looks surprised.

“And then I buried his body in the hole.”

“What about Ellis’s body?”

“That wasn’t there when I put his body in the hole,” Carmilla answers vaguely. “It must’ve been dumped there after I left.”

Her mother slowly nods. “And Laura Hollis?”

“Knows nothing of it,” Carmilla answers immediately.

The older woman settles back in her chair, seemingly satisfied with that answer.

 

“Well. Officer Kay was supposed to be under my employment,” the Dean states, clicking her tongue. “Clearly he was following someone else’s orders.”

Carmilla nods solemnly.

“You have my word, my glittering girl. I will find out who it was.” She taps her fingers on the table and sighs. “This shall not happen again.”

“Yes, mother.”

“I’m glad you are okay,” she says, her voice as warm as Carmilla has ever heard it. “If something were to happen to you… I should be most inconsolable.”

They sit in silence for a few seconds.

“Well, be off now,” her mother says with a dismissive wave of her hand. “The would-be assassin hirer won’t find itself.”

Carmilla rises from her chair and makes it to the door before she hears her name called out from behind her.

“I trust you have indeed cut off ties with Laura Hollis?”

Carmilla turns to face her. “Yes, mother.”

“Good. Wouldn’t want this to get more messy than it has already.”

“Of course not.”

“Good day, dear.”

 

Carmilla walks out of the office and closes the door, letting out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.

 

She pulls out her phone and sees a few missed texts from Laura, including one picture of Laura pouting while holding up her stuffed cupcake as well as the star, saying, “Hurry up. We miss you.”

Carmilla smiles and stuffs her phone back in her pocket. Laura had left Carmilla’s apartment before Carmilla woke up, but had apparently snatched the star plush without her noticing.

 _Nope. Not messy at all._  

 

* * *

 

 

Carmilla walks up the hill Laura had told her to meet her at and grins. Laura spots her and immediately perks up, visibly bouncing in place.

“What is all this?” Carmilla asks, trying and failing to subdue the growing smile on her face. It’s a very isolated spot, ensuring that no one would accidentally see them.

“A picnic, _duh_ ,” Laura says, chuckling. Then her eyes widen. “Wait, don’t tell me you ate already? Crap, you totally ate already and now you’re not hungry but you’re gonna be super nice about it anyway and sit down and then this whole thing is gonna end up with you _watching_ me eat, all because I was trying to be a sap and throw you a surprise picnic lunch––”

Carmilla smirks as she plops herself down next to Laura, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to her lips. This effectively shuts Laura up as she smiles into the kiss. Carmilla eventually pulls away, the smirk still there.

“Calm down, cupcake. I didn’t have lunch, yet. Your surprise plan has not been derailed.”

Laura lets out a relieved exhale. “Cool. Okay, yeah. Cool.”

She places the picnic basket in her lap and opens it.

“Geez, I’ve never actually seen someone use a picnic basket before.”

Laura pouts at her and Carmilla chuckles.

 

“Well, you _meanie_ , this lovely picnic basket has sandwiches, juice and soda, cookies and cupcakes, and some fruits.” Laura pulls out a couple wrapped sandwiches and a couple cans of grape soda.

Carmilla takes them and they sit in silence for a bit, chewing.

“Sooo, my dad bought the whole ‘bookcase fell on me’ story,” Laura says slowly.

Carmilla quirks an eyebrow. “Is it really that regular of an occurrence for you?”

“Yup!” Laura opens the package of cookies and offers one to Carmilla, who takes it. “It’s kind of a running joke with me, actually.”

“ _Do tell_ ,” Carmilla says, biting into the cookie.

 

“Well, when I was little, I used to sneak back downstairs after my parents fell asleep to eat cookies,” Laura begins.

Carmilla throws her head back and actually laughs. “You would.”

Laura giggles and bats her eyelashes innocently. “Anyway, one night my mom caught me and she and my dad decided to put the cookie jar at the top of a bookcase, out of my reach. But like, they were _really_ good cookies, Carm.” Laura’s eyes are wide. “ _Really good_. So I did the next logical thing and climbed up the bookcase by the shelves to get to the cookies.”

Carmilla stares at her, amused.

“I missed my footing and fell off the bookcase, taking it down with me, and I broke my leg,” Laura continues. “And then the same thing happened a few years later when I was in middle school because we were playing tag and I tripped and fell into the bookcase. Broke my arm.”

Carmilla scoffs. “Seriously?”

Laura nods. “And then in high school, Danny and I were having an argument around the time we broke up and she was ignoring me when I asked her to get me something off one of the higher shelves. So I was bracing myself on one of the shelves and must’ve put too much weight on it, and the whole thing fell on me. Wound up with a few stitches.”

Carmilla snickers.

“Which is why Danny and my dad believed my lie,” Laura says with a wink.

 

Carmilla hums in response and grabs another cookie, looking Laura over. The cuts and bruises are mostly gone now, but she hadn’t even noticed them for days. Laura was almost always smiling or laughing, or otherwise bursting with energy, and it lit up her whole face.

“You never talk about her,” Carmilla says quietly.

Laura cocks her head to the side. “Who?”

“Your mother. This is the first time you’ve mentioned her.”

Laura shrugs. “You never talk about your dad.”

“Not much to say,” Carmilla says nonchalantly. “Never knew him. I think my mom scared him off before I was born.”

“Oh. Sorry,” Laura says.

“Nothing to apologize for, cutie,” Carmilla replies, bumping shoulders with her. “Do I need to apologize for bringing up your mother?”

Laura grabs a small cupcake out of the container. “Nah. It’s just not a particularly fun story. Not date material.”

“Oh, so this is a _date_?” Carmilla asks with a smirk.

Laura rolls her eyes. “You are _impossible_.”

“Thanks.”

“ _Wasn’t_ a compliment,” Laura snaps playfully.

 

They sit there snacking for a bit before Carmilla wrings her hands together nervously. “I met with my mom today.”

“What about?” Laura asks, her mouth full of cookie.

“I asked her about Office Kay,” Carmilla replies hesitantly. “Told him he attacked me and I killed him out of self-defense and that the other body was put there after I left.”

Laura shifts, her eyebrows furrowing together. “How’d she react?”

“She seemed… reservedly angry about him coming after me. She said she’d look into it.”

“Well, that’s… That’s good, right?”

Carmilla shrugs. “I guess.”

 

They stay in silence for a bit before Laura edges closer to Carmilla.

“Carm?”

“Hmm?”

Laura rests a hand on Carmilla’s lap. “Thanks for telling me.”

“I said ‘no more secrets,’ right, creampuff?” Carmilla smiles at her.

“Still. It means a lot to me,” Laura says warmly.

Carmilla bites her lip. “Well, thanks for this surprise picnic. It was really amazing of you. I loved it.”

Laura squeals. “Score one for Girlfriend Hollis.”

“You dork,” Carmilla chuckles, leaning in for a kiss.

Laura meets her halfway and her hand winds up comfortably wrapped up in Carmilla’s hair. They stay like this for a while, the kiss remaining sweet and pure.

 

Carmilla’s the first to pull away and grins. “Would this be a bad time to tell you I did actually have lunch before this and ate just so you wouldn’t feel bad?”

Laura pouts and buries her face in her hands. “I suck.”

“No, cutie. You’re worth it.”

Laura lets out a dry laugh. “If it’s any consolation, there was more to this plan than just a picnic.”

“Oh?”

Laura nods and points out towards the horizon. “The sun’s setting.”

Carmilla wraps an arm around Laura’s shoulder and buries a kiss in her hair. “Laura Hollis, you brought me to the top of a hill to feed me and then watch a sunset together?”

Laura giggles. “Yes.”

 

Carmilla doesn’t say anything, but in that moment she realizes any potential mess their relationship could make, is totally worth it.

They wind up napping on the hill after the sun sets for a couple hours, snuggled up against each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Next update will be in a couple days! Feel free to leave a comment or swing by and hit me up on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/)  
> Updates are tagged on tumblr as [#Carmilla sheriff AU](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/tagged/carmilla+sheriff+au).  
> Stay awesome! <3


	15. Inevitable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laura works to patch things up with her father and Danny, while she and Carmilla come to an agreement about their relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The idea for this chapter came from [this](http://mycroftisyourcroft.tumblr.com/post/120225901686/) post.  
> Enjoy!

“How do I look?” Laura asks, doing a dramatic twirl in her dress.

Her dad looks her up and down. “Like the respectable daughter of the chief deputy,” he answers stiffly.

Laura narrows her eyes at him. “Daaaaaad…”

He drops his act and cracks a smile. “You look like a beautiful young lady, Laur. As usual.”

Laura plops down next to him and giggles.

He hums in response and pats her leg.

“Dad?”

“Hmm?”

Laura sighs. “We’re okay, right?”

He shifts a bit to look her in the eyes.

 

“I’m still not thrilled you dropped those charges. Or that you were drinking underage,” he says sharply. “But if your mother was still here, she would tell me to let you make your own decisions, as long as you’re not actively endangering yourself. And while both of those decisions kinda are, you’re a smart and strong kid, Laura.”

Laura nods. “Thanks, dad.” She leans her head on his shoulder.

“Your mom would be proud of you, kiddo.”

“She’d be proud of both of us,” Laura asserts.

He laughs and gently pushes her head off his shoulder, standing up and offering her his hand. “Time for us to get going. Can’t be late to the town party, can we? Us Hollises have a reputation to uphold.”

Laura grins and takes his hand, doing a mock salute when she rises. “Yes, sir!”

  

* * *

 

 

“The guest list is a little different this year. I didn’t see the updated version, but that’s just what I   was told,” her father says conversationally as he parks the car outside Mayor Kirsch’s home.

Laura hums in response. She had been meaning to take a quick picture of herself in the dress and send it to Carmilla, who’d been sleeping when Laura left her apartment, as usual, but didn’t have time to before they’d left. If her father saw her taking it, it’s not like Laura could lie and say it was for Danny or any of her other close friends, since they’d all also be at the party.

It’d only been a few days before her father had reached out to her post-arguments about attending as his plus one and she hadn’t really had time to talk to Carmilla about it.

In fact, all she and Carmilla had been doing since the picnic date had been studying for midterms.  They'd meet up for dinner and maybe some Netflix and then sleep over in each other's beds, but both were too tired for any real conversation.  Hell, Laura wasn't even sure if they were exclusive.

Laura's father gets out of the car, snapping her out of her thoughts. He escorts her in and starts working the room’s older crowd, while Laura makes her way over to her friends.

“Hey, guys,” Laura says to Perry and LaF, giving Danny an awkward nod.

“Hi, Laura,” Danny says quietly. “You–– Uhm… You healed up nicely.”

Laura offers her a small smile. “That’s the magic of make-up.”

Danny gives a small chuckle.

“Hey, Danny,” Laura says slowly. “Can we talk? In private?”

Danny nods and they give Perry and LaFontaine small waves as they head out to a patio.

 

“I wanted to apologize for how angry I got at you,” Laura begins. “I know you’re just looking out for me and I don’t think you deserve all the flack I give you over it.”

Danny sighs and walks to sit down on a chair, waiting for Laura to do the same.

“Hollis, we’ve known each other our _whole_ lives. We’ve both heard stories from our mothers about how we were fighting since the crib. And then we dated. And then we broke up but remained best friends. And somewhere along the way, lines got blurred and it’s like, where are the boundaries? You know?”

Laura nods, biting her lip.

“And I want you to know I’ll always care about you and want to protect you–– maybe more than I should. And I’m sorry if it feels like too much, or if I pick your dad’s over yours,” Danny continues. “It’s just, he told me about Carmilla and her mother, and then that whole thing with Will happened, and we were both so worried…”

 

“I know, I know.” Laura places a hand over Danny’s and gives her a tiny smile. “But I promise you, I know how to take care of myself. And as much as I love being best friends, sometimes when you act like my dad or like a mom, it makes me feel like we’re _not_ best friends.” She sighs. “I need to know you have my back, no matter what.”

Danny lets this sit in before she leans forward and pulls Laura into a hug. “I always have your back, Laura. No matter how tiny it is.”

Laura lets out a loud laugh, and Danny pulls back, a grin stretching across her face.

“I’m glad we had this talk,” she says, glancing down at her phone. “Oh crap, my mom wants me to go help with the catering and waitressing. I’ll see you around?”

Laura nods and Danny rises, giving her a small pat on the shoulder as she goes back into the mansion.

 

Laura sees Perry and LaFontaine laughing about something Kirsch has walked over to say to them, so she gets up and starts to join, when someone grabs her by the elbow. She gets pinned against the wall and it takes her a few seconds before she can focus on the face before her.

“Carm?”

“What the hell are you doing here?” Carmilla asks, inches from her face.

Laura blinks hard. “Me? What are _you_ doing here?”

Carmilla, realizing she’s definitely invading some kind of rule about personal space, takes a couple steps back. “My mother got invited this year. For being the dean of the university, not for her… other activities.”

Laura’s mind flashes back to her father telling her _the guest list is a little different this year_. He must not have known that Lilita Morgan was on the list, or he _definitely_ would not have let Laura come with him.

“––Hello? Earth to cupcake.”

Laura realizes Carmilla’s been speaking to her. “Huh?”

“I said, ‘your turn.’ What are you doing here?”

“Oh,” Laura says dumbly. “We’re invited every year. And my dad helps keep an eye out with security.”

 

“Ah.” Carmilla looks Laura up and down and smirks at her maroon dress. “You look amazing.”

Laura blushes and does the same to Carmilla, who’s in a slimming black dress. “Well, Ms. Karnstein, you are absolutely stunning.”

“‘Absolutely stunning,’ huh?” Carmilla says, her smirk growing. She leans forward and pecks Laura on the lips.

“Mmhmm,” Laura mumbles, pulling Carmilla towards her to deepen the kiss.

 

“Laura? Are you out here?”

Laura’s eyes widen and she spins Carmilla around so now she’s against the wall, out of sight. Carmilla quirks an eyebrow.

“Coming, dad!”

Laura gives Carmilla an apologetic smile as she backs away and heads over to her father.

 

* * *

 

Carmilla stands by the punch bowl, frowning across the room. In fact, she’s so busy frowning she doesn’t realize someone is now standing next to her.

“Carmilla, right?”

Carmilla looks over and vaguely recognizes the redhead. She decides to ignore her.

“You must be Carmilla,” she presses.

“Must I be?” Carmilla drawls.

She sticks out a hand and frowns when Carmilla glances down at it as if it contains the bubonic plague. “I’m Perry,” she says, slightly more weakly. “Laura’s friend?”

“Ah, from the alley,” Carmilla replies.

She nods, a smile growing on their face. “So, uh… What are you looking at…?” Perry tries to follow Carmilla’s line of vision and furrows her eyebrows together.

 

Laura is across the room, laughing at some joke. From a girl. A really pretty girl.

“Who is that, talking to Laura?” Carmilla growls.

Perry shrugs. “I’ve never seen her before.”

The girl, a spunky brunette in a hot red dress, leans in to whisper something in Laura’s ear. Laura giggles and nods, pointing up the stairs and gesturing for the girl to follow her. She reaches out and grabs Laura’s hand, and Laura slowly takes her upstairs.

“Excuse me,” Carmilla says to Perry gruffly, waiting for them to finish ascending before following suit.

She carefully goes after them before realizing Laura’s led the girl to a balcony. She hesitates in the hallway, lingering within earshot.

 

“ _I can’t believe we’re doing this up here,_ ” a voice that is not Laura’s says, chuckling. “ _What if we get arrested for public indecency?_ ”

“ _Hello? My dad’s the chief deputy. You’re fine,_ ” Laura replies with a small laugh. “ _Just take the shoulder straps off._ ” There’s some giggling and sounds of clothing being removed.

Carmilla can’t take it anymore and storms onto the balcony. “What the _frilly hell_ are you doing?”

Laura’s mouth drops open, as she and the other girl quickly slip their dress straps back on.

“Carm, what the heck are you doing?” Laura hisses.

“I asked you first,” Carmilla snaps lamely.

Laura narrows her eyes and looks ready to tell Carmilla off.

The girl puts a hand on Laura’s shoulder, as if to calm her down, and Carmilla is ready to step forward and rip that hand off.

“Laura was just helping me fix my dress,” the girl insists sweetly. “My bra was showing so she was going to swap bras with me since her dress isn’t as revealing, and she has a strapless bra on.”

“Oh.” Carmilla looks from the girl to Laura, who looks furious. “This couldn’t be done in, oh, I don’t know, say, a bathroom?”

Laura rolls her eyes. “I don’t know if you’ve seen the bathrooms here, but they’re like, public bathrooms. No actual privacy in the stalls. There’s no one up here, so I _thought_ we’d be safe.”

The girl swallows hard. “Soooo… thank you, Laura… I’m just… gonna go…” She awkwardly squeezes by Carmilla.

 

They wait until the footsteps disappear down the stairs before Laura lets out an exasperated sigh. “What is the matter with you?”

Carmilla frowns. “She was flirting with you.”

Laura laughs dryly. “Oh, for the love of–– Carm, she’s straight. Her name was Corinna Scott and she’s one of my dad’s newest rookies. I was just mingling with his coworkers to make them feel welcome in town.”

“Oh.” Carmilla blushes and leans against the balcony railing. “I feel like an idiot.”

Laura walks over to Carmilla with a smug grin. “You were _jealous_.”

“Was not,” Carmilla grumps.

 

Laura giggles, and a small smile forms on Carmilla’s face.

“Okay, maybe a little.”

Laura leans forward and gives Carmilla small peck on the cheek before pulling back. “Look, Carm, I’m not planning on dating anyone else,” she says softly.

“Me neither,” Carmilla replies, giving Laura a small kiss on the lips. She leans her forehead against Laura’s.

 

Her phone rings and they both jump, laughing. Laura answers it.

“Hey, dad. … Yeah, I’m upstairs. You know how much I love the view from the balcony up here… …Sure, I can get a ride from someone, don’t worry. Stay safe, and, uh... _you know_.”

Laura hangs up and looks at Carmilla. “Some case came up and they need my dad.”

Carmilla hums. “Well, I did drive here, separate from my mother.”

“Oh, did you?” Laura grins.

“Laura Hollis, may I have the honor of driving you home after this party? I’m pretty sure it’s part of the monogamous girlfriend code.”

“Why, of course.” Laura giggles and pulls Carmilla in for another kiss. “I’m glad I could do you the honor of dating _just_ you. I mean, you’re totally useless. Can’t even bury a body properly,” Laura teases.

Carmilla’s mouth drops open and mocks offense. “That’s because some dumb lump stole my hole,” she says, swatting Laura on the shoulder.

“Well, I’m not the one who parked my car in the muddiest part of the area,” Laura retorts.

Carmilla rolls her eyes. “Oh, shut up, cupcake.”

Laura cackles.

 

“Ready to go back to the party?”

“No,” Carmilla deadpans.

“That’s what I thought,” Laura says, turning around to look out from the balcony. Carmilla stands next to her, pressed against her side.

“Laura, I want to be your last first kiss,” Carmilla whispers.

It’s quiet for a little bit, and Carmilla thinks maybe her comment will go without a reply.

Laura eventually nods and presses a kiss against Carmilla’s shoulder. “I think I’d be more than okay with that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI the inspiration from that post was _we made the mutual decision to go to this party separately and when i arrived there was this asshole flirting with you and i’m trying not to make it obvious i’m seething with jealousy but it’s really difficult_.  
>  And Carmilla saying "I want to be your last first kiss" came from Anberlin's "Inevitable" :)
> 
> The next update will be in a couple days! In the meantime, feel free to leave a comment or swing by and hit me up on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/)  
> Updates are tagged on tumblr as [#Carmilla sheriff AU](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/tagged/carmilla+sheriff+au).  
> Stay awesome! <3


	16. Cop Car

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Dean confronts Carmilla about some information she's received. Carmilla plans a date for her and Laura that that doesn't end the way she wanted.

Carmilla sighs and knocks on her mother’s office door. “Mother, it’s me.”

“Come in.”

Carmilla stills for a second. _That_ was a rather harsh tone. She carefully opens the door.

“Sit.”

Carmilla does as asked and raises an eyebrow.

“I have heard from… multiple sources… That not only are you and Laura Hollis still spending time together, but that you and her seem to be _romantically involved._ ”

Carmilla’s eyes widen and she swallows hard, at a loss for words.

“I take it from your silence that these accounts are valid?”

“Mother––”

“––I _told you_ to stay away from her.”

 

Carmilla freezes. _This is it. This is the time to make a decision_.

Ever since they had established that they were exclusive, it was like there was a weight off her chest. Laura is always so willing to look for the good in everyone and everything, and it has done wonders for Carmilla’s generally gloomy-disposition. Even Will had commented on it on her way in to see her mother.

It feels like she and Laura can take on the world together.

And maybe–– just maybe–– take on her mother together.

 

Carmilla clenches her jaw. “No,” she finally says quietly.

“Excuse me?”

“I’m not staying away from her, mother,” Carmilla growls.

 

For once, Lilita Morgan looks shocked and is speechless.

“Look,” Carmilla begins, trying to take advantage of the courage she’s suddenly found, “the night that I killed Officer Kay, Laura was… there. She saw me burying the body.”

She was _not_ about to tell her mother that Laura was the one burying Ellis’s body.

“My car got stuck in the mud because I didn’t know the area around there and she drove me home and promised not to tell anyone. When her dad started asking me questions about why my car was in the area the bodies were buried, she gave me an alibi.”

“And why would she do such a thing?”

“I don’t know,” Carmilla answers truthfully. “But he’s been hounding her ever since to change the alibi, and she won’t.”

Her mother sighs and crosses her arms, staring her down.

“Mother, she isn’t a problem, and she will never become one. I promise,” Carmilla says, trying not to sound too desperate.

 

They sit in silence for a bit before the Dean uncrosses her arms. “She saw you bury a body and didn’t turn you in?”

“No.”

“And she just… _gave_ you an alibi uncoerced?”

“Yes.”

“She shows absolutely no signs of rescinding it? No second-guessing?”

Carmilla shakes her head.

“How… odd.” She taps her fingers on the armrest of her chair.

 

A few more moments pass as she seems to be mulling over her options.

Carmilla tries to gauge what her mother’s final decision will be, but the expression is unreadable.

Finally, she speaks. “Fine. Continue this… whatever _this_ is. But, do it with caution, Carmilla.”

Carmilla nods, trying not to seem too eager. “Yes, mother.”

“You’re dismissed.”

Carmilla lets out a small sigh of relief and heads towards the door.

 

“Oh, and Carmilla?”

“Yes?”

“I still haven’t been able to figure out why Officer Kay went after you, darling. But I promise I will.”

“Is that why you had me followed?”

She nods. “I wasn’t trying to spy on you with this whole Laura thing. I just have a couple of my most trusted men following you around to make sure that kind of thing doesn’t happen again.”

Carmilla gives her a small smile. “Thank you.”

  

* * *

 

 

Hands cover Carmilla’s eyes as she stands on Laura’s porch.

“Guess who,” a voice giggles into her ear from behind.

Carmilla smirks and lets out a hum. “Mattie?”

“No.”

“Mother?”

Laughter is heard. “Guess again.”

“Well, I’m at a loss,” Carmilla deadpans.

The hands are removed and there’s a kiss on Carmilla’s cheek.

“Ah. Will,” Carmilla says, earning a smack on the shoulder.

“You’re the worst,” Laura laughs, letting them in and sitting next to Carmilla on her couch.

“I’m just very careful about what goes on my face, hon,” Carmilla replies. She leans forward very pointedly and kisses Laura sweetly on the lips. “Mmm, very, _very_ careful.”

Laura giggles. “I think we’ve been spending too much time together. You’re catching my dorkiness.”

“No such thing as too much time with you,” Carmilla replies.

 

She grabs Carmilla’s hand and intertwines their fingers as they turn on the television and watch some hockey game in silence for a few minutes.

Carmilla finally swallows hard. “Laura?”

Hearing her actual name is enough to get Laura’s attention. “Yeah?”

“My m–– My mother found out about us. Spending time together. Being together.” Carmilla chances a glance over and sees Laura’s mouth has dropped open. “I don’t know who told her, but she said she heard it from a few people.”

Laura gulps. “Did you call me here so I don’t get my butt handed to me again by her thugs?”

Carmilla shakes her head and offers her a small smile. “She seems okay with it. Or, at least, she did after I told her you knew about me and Officer Kay and the whole alibi thing.”

“So…”

“ _So_ , you and your butt are fine,” Carmilla says, kissing Laura on the cheek. “I promise.”

“Okay,” Laura replies, chuckling.

 

Laura leans back and rests her head on Carmilla’s shoulder. After a couple minutes, she shifts a bit. “Maybe she’s just intimidated by what a bad ass I am.”

Carmilla barks with laughter and Laura jumps.

“What’s _that_ supposed to mean?”

“Oh, were you being serious?” Carmilla teases. She pulls back to look at Laura, who’s pouting. “Oh _god_ , cupcake. There are a lot of things I lo–– like about you, but being a bad ass is not one of them.”

“My ass is _so_ bad,” Laura insists, her pout growing.

“Laura, the other day you stubbed your toe and the curse you let out was, ‘ _Oh, shi–– fu–– mother shitter!_ ”

“Oh.” Laura continues pouting but snuggles against Carmilla’s side again. “Well, how was I supposed to know it was ‘motherfucker,’” she grumbles.

 

Carmilla sits there for a few minutes before she can feel herself start to give in. “Alright, alright.” Laura perks up a bit. “How about, since you planned our first date––”

“––I didn’t know it was a date at the ti––”

“––I’ll plan the next one?”

Laura stares at Carmilla. Then she narrows her eyes. “What do you have in mind?”

“We’ll do something _bad ass_. Together.”

Laura slowly grins and then all-out beams at Carmilla. “Okay!”

Carmilla smiles and kisses her. “You dork.”

 

* * *

 

Laura fiddles with her hands in the passenger seat.

“Cupcake, would you cut it out? You’re starting to make _me_ nervous.”

“I’m sorry! It’s just, I’ve never done this before,” Laura says, sighing. There’s a certain tone in her voice that Carmilla’s never heard directed at her before, and she can’t quite place it.

Carmilla grabs Laura’s hands in one of hers, keeping the other on the steering wheel. “Ah ha! So you admit it. You’re not a bad ass.”

Laura looks positively offended. “I am _so_! I’ve just never done _this_ before. I’ve done so many other bad ass things.”

“Uh huh,” Carmilla says, obviously not convinced.

She had passed by this area when she drove to see her mother and thought it weird that there were so many cops patrolling the area.

 

They drive past a “NO TRESPASSING” sign and Laura gulps.

Carmilla stops the car. “Sweetheart, if you don’t want to do this––”

“No! No, I want to,” Laura says immediately.

“I don’t wanna push you into doing anything you don’t feel comfortable doing. I won’t think any less of you,” Carmilla says sincerely.

Laura shakes her head. “Let’s do this, Carm. Let’s be the baddest to ever ass.”

Carmilla smirks and drives further past the fence into an open field, going until all the light pollution is gone.

 

She eventually turns the engine off and gets out the car, running around to open the door for Laura.

“My, my, so chivalrous,” Laura comments, earning an eye roll from Carmilla.

Carmilla heads to her trunk and pulls out a few blankets and places them over the hood, gesturing for Laura to lie on top. She settles next to her and throws an arm around Laura’s shoulder, pulling her to her side.

“I can’t believe we’re trespassing here,” Laura whispers excitedly.

Carmilla chuckles. “Believe it, cutie.”

 

Laura snuggles closer and it remains silent, with their breathing synchronizing and the gentle nighttime sounds surrounding them. Laura’s eyes are trained on the stars above them.

“Hey, Carm?” Laura finally says softly. She glances over to see Carmilla’s been looking at her and she blushes a bit.

“Hmm?”

“Thanks for bringing me out here.”

“It’s really not a big deal. I noticed it when I first moved in and just never had a good reason to actually, y’know… trespass.” Carmilla kisses the top of Laura’s head.

Laura sighs. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Well, what did you mean?”

“You know how when you asked me to go to that party with you, I was hesitant at first?” She feels Carmilla nod. “I used to go to a lot of parties in high school, but my dad eventually figured out I wasn’t _studying in the library_ like I told him I was and he’d keep busting the parties. So my friends stopped inviting me. Kirsch, Danny, LaF, Perry… they all just started going to parties and keeping it from me. But I figured it out.”

She slowly looks back at Carmilla, who’s frowning. “That’s awful.”

“Yeah,” Laura chuckles dryly. “But I understood why they did that. Who wants the entire sheriff department busting down the door every time you want to have some fun, you know?”

Carmilla shrugs. “Still…”

 

Laura swallows hard. “Anyway, when you started teasing me about me not being a bad ass–– which is _so_ not true, by the way–– I was afraid you’d do the same.”

Carmilla furrows her eyebrows together. “You were afraid I’d stop inviting you to parties?”

“No, silly,” Laura laughs. “I was afraid you’d like, ostracize me because of who my dad is.”

Carmilla stares at her for a long time in silence.

“You’re stupid, you know that?”

Laura blinks. “Wow, this date you planned for us is going _swell_.”

“You’re stupid,” Carmilla repeats. “You’ve known that my mother is the leader of an organized crime gang for _how long_? And you think I’d just suddenly realize I’m dating the chief deputy’s daughter and get scared off?”

“Oh, well when you say it _that_ way, I do seem quite stupid,” Laura admits sheepishly.

Carmilla chuckles and tucks a loose strand of hair behind Laura’s ear. “Laura, I’m not with you because of your debatable status as a bad ass. Or because you can apparently shoot better than I can.”

“To be honest, I haven’t quite figured out why you’re with me,” Laura says softly, as if it slipped out.

Carmilla frowns at her. “I’m with you because the first night I met you, we were both burying bodies, and you drove me home because I parked in the damn mud. And the day after that, you made up an alibi to your dad for me without ever finding out why I was burying the body of a cop in the first place. And even after you found out what was going on, you never once even considered betraying me. It’s like you saw some good in me that no one else even bothered to search for.”

“I _still_ see it,” Laura whispers.

Carmilla leans in and captures Laura’s lips. This kiss feels different than the others. It’s almost as if Carmilla’s trying to tell Laura something–– a message her brain hasn’t even made coherent yet, but that her body and soul _knows_.

 

Their moment is interrupted by flashing lights.

“ _Shit_ ,” Carmilla curses as a squad car sounds its alarm and rolls up behind them.

Laura rolls off the hood first, shielding her eyes from the flashing lights.

“Laura?” one of the deputies calls out, getting out of the driver’s seat.

“Hey, Mel,” Laura says weakly. “Hi, Sarah Jane.”

“Why are you trespassing?” the deputy in the passenger side asks.

Carmilla clears her throat. “It was m––”

“––My idea,” Laura interrupts.

Carmilla quirks an eyebrow, and the deputies share a skeptical look.

 

“You,” Sarah Jane says to Carmilla. “In the backseat. We won’t cuff you if you don’t make a scene.”

Carmilla sighs and nods, walking over to the door. Mel opens it and shuts it once she’s inside.

Carmilla watches as the two deputies walk towards Laura. They look like they’re asking her questions, and Laura keeps shaking her head.

 _If only I could read lips_.

She’s sure that they’re asking Laura what _really_ happened and, as much as Carmilla would like to pretend otherwise, they’re probably going to make Carmilla take the fall for the whole thing. After all, who would bust the chief’s daughter for trespassing? Especially since it was obviously not Laura’s idea…

Carmilla sighs. This is probably why the Dean told her to stay away from Laura in the first place. Carmilla tried to entice Laura with the darkness, but they were too different. There was no way––

 

The door of the back passenger side opens up and Laura gets into the car.

Carmilla’s mouth drops open. “What…”

Laura smirks. “Please, like I was going to let you take the fall for this one by yourself, you martyr.”

Carmilla continues gaping at her.

“Look, they’d be harder on you than they would be on me. Or on both of us. So I just stubbornly told them it was my idea and if they’re gonna be arresting _my girlfriend_ , then by golly, they’d better arrest me, too.”

Carmilla closes her eyes and shakes her head. “No. Laura, _no_. This wasn’t even your idea!”

Laura crosses her arms. “It is, now. Trust me, Carm. Getting yourself arrested for trespassing when my dad already has it out for you? Not a great idea.”

“Oh, but getting _you_ arrested–– that’s gonna get me on his good side?” Carmilla scoffs.

Laura pouts. “So you _don’t_ trust me?”

Carmilla furrows her eyebrows together and shifts to look at Laura. “God, I–– no. Of course I trust you. I just…” She sighs. “I don’t get why you’re putting yourself on the line for me.”

Laura shrugs. “Because you’re worth it, Carm.”

Carmilla stares at her and Laura finally stops pouting, her lips curling up into a smile.

 

“Plus if they drive away with you, I’d be left driving myself home in your car, and I have no idea how to drive stick. Why would I turn down a shot at a free ride?”

Carmilla laughs and bumps shoulders with her.

Laura grins and looks out the back window, then at the two deputies–– no doubt debating whether they should really go through with arresting them. “Think we should make a run for it? It’d make a great story.”

Carmilla chuckles and leans forward, kissing Laura tenderly. “I think I lo––”

 

The two front doors open and Mel settles into the driver’s seat. “Last chance, Laura. Once we get to the station and your dad sees you guys…”

Laura grins at Carmilla. “…He’ll know it was my idea to trespass.”

Sarah Jane and Mel sigh. “Alrighty then.” The car pulls out of the field and heads back to town.

 

Carmilla glances over and Laura’s eyes are trained on the front window. Now that they’re back on a main road, the streetlights make her eyes shine as they pass over them.

Laura eventually looks back over and offers Carmilla a reassuring smile, placing her hand over Carmilla’s and giving it a small squeeze to reassure her.

And Carmilla knows she’s a goner.

She is falling in love with Laura Hollis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was inspired by Keith Urban's "Cop Car" :D  
> The next update will be in a couple days! In the meantime, feel free to leave a comment or swing by and hit me up on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/)  
> Updates are tagged on tumblr as [#Carmilla sheriff AU](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/tagged/carmilla+sheriff+au).  
> Thanks for reading and stay awesome! <3


	17. Dinner for Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laura's father struggles with the knowledge of his daughter's lies and relationship with Carmilla.  
> Carmilla learns more about Laura from her father.

“Let me get this straight,” Laura father growls from the other side of the bars of the holding cell. “Not only did you disobey my order to stay away from Carmilla Karnstein, but you lied about it for weeks, only to start _dating_ her and then _trespassed_ tonight?!”

His voice booms through the space, and the straggling deputies scramble to leave the room.

Laura steels herself next to Carmilla, who flinches at the man’s anger.

“Only because you wouldn’t _listen to me_ about her!” Laura swallows hard. “She’s a good person, dad.”

He turns and slams a table nearby and Carmilla jumps, but Laura simply grabs her hand, immediately calming her down.

“She is the daughter of _Lilita Morgan_. The Dean. The crime lord, the Dean!”

“Yeah, and I’m the daughter of Charles Hollis, but clearly I’m not a friggin’ saint,” Laura retorts.

The chief whirls back towards the cell and almost presses his face against the bars.

 

“This is _not_ a joke, Laura!”

“Who’s laughing?” she demands. “Am I no longer the respectable daughter of a chief deputy? Because I’m dating Carmilla Karnstein?”

“Not if you’re going to keep doing things like underage drinking or trespassing!” he yells.

Laura lets go of Carmilla’s hand and rises from the bench they’re sitting on. “So you’re gonna disown me? Is that it?”

“Maybe I should, to teach you a lesson,” he says icily.

Carmilla’s eyes widen and she stands up, placing herself next to Laura.

 

“May I say something?” she asks quietly.

They both stare at her, but neither objects so she continues.

“Sir, I understand that it’s very… difficult to look past my relationship with my mother. I don’t know if I could ever convince you that I’m any different than her. But I do hope that I can convince you that I really care about your daughter, and I would never do anything to hurt her, or let anyone harm her.”

He stares at her, pressing his lips together.

“I apologize for the underage drinking and the trespassing,” she continues, finding the small contact Laura’s arm is making with hers enough to give her strength. “I just… I didn’t want her to feel like she had to be treated differently just for being your daughter. She never made me feel that way about my mother, and I just wanted her to have some fun and not feel alienated.”

His face softens a bit, but he maintains his glare.

“But I’m very sorry for the trouble I’ve caused you and your daughter,” Carmilla finishes.

 

He stands there for a while, his eyes shifting between the two girls. After a couple minutes of silently staring, his gaze lingers on Laura and he lets out a sigh and nods to himself.

Without a word, he walks around the office desk and opens a drawer, producing a key. He unlocks the cell. “Out. Both of you,” he says sharply.

Laura walks out first, followed by Carmilla.

“Dad…”

“Dinner. Tomorrow night, 6pm. My house. I hope to see both of you,” he continues, before brushing past them on the way out.

Laura and Carmilla stare at each other, confused.

 _What_?

 

* * *

 

 

“Do you think he’s inviting me over so he can shoot me down and it won’t muck up the sheriff’s office?” Carmilla frets as they walk over.

Laura frowns. “Then why would he invite me?”

“To _watch_ ,” Carmilla whimpers, and Laura lets out a laugh, stopping in the middle of the street.

“Look, I don’t know why my dad invited us over for dinner after finding out I disobeyed him for weeks, only to start dating you and to wind up arrested,” Laura says, giving Carmilla a kiss on the cheek, “but we’ll get through this. Together.”

Carmilla pouts but nods. “And if he does shoot me?”

“Then I’ll plug up the bullet hole and we’ll have a nice movie night after,” Laura replies sweetly.

“Gee, thanks,” Carmilla says flatly.

 

They walk up to the front door and Laura rings the doorbell. After a few moments, it opens up, and the chief peers down at them, before his face softens. “Laura,” he greets, bending over to hug her. He lets her go and glances over. “Carmilla,” he says, blatantly less warmly.

He looks back over to Laura, who slightly glares at him.

“Well, come in,” he says, turning and heading back to the kitchen. “I just started cooking, but dinner will be ready within the hour. Can I get you guys anything?”

“No, thank you,” Carmilla almost squeaks out as she follows Laura in.

Laura gestures towards a room to the right of the hallway. “That’s the living room.”

Carmilla heads over as Laura closes the door behind them and locks it. She enters the living room and finds Carmilla poring over family pictures they have scattered around.

 

Laura walks up next to her and bumps shoulders with her.

Carmilla chuckles. “Well, weren’t you an adorable little cupcake.” She’s looking at a picture of Laura, grinning at the camera with a missing front tooth. “Not that you’re not still one now.”

Laura laughs.

Carmilla points at a picture of Laura smooshing two apples against her cheeks when she was about six years old. She’s sitting in the lap of an older woman, who shares Laura’s wide, bright smile. “I-Is that, uh, your mother?”

Laura nods and starts to speak when another voice cuts her off.

“We told her an apple a day keeps the doctor away, so she figured if she had _two_ apples a day, eventually it’d add up and she’d never have to see a doctor again,” her father comments from behind them.

Carmilla smirks at a blushing Laura. “And how’d that work out?”

“Pretty good,” Laura replies indignantly.

 

Her father chuckles softly and hands her a bowl of chips before turning and heading back to the kitchen.

Laura sits down on the couch and pats the seat next to her. “Sit,” she says to Carmilla, who hesitates but plops down.

“Do you think he’s in there, poisoning my food?”

Laura laughs. “No, Carm.”

Carmilla crinkles her nose at Laura and gives her a skeptical look.

“…Maybe we’ll swap plates, just in case.”

  

* * *

 

 

Carmilla stands by with her plate as Laura piles food onto another. She tries not to fidget as the chief walks into the kitchen and leans against the doorframe.

“Did I miss anything, dad?” Laura asks, handing him the plate.

He shakes his head and offers her a small smile. “Nice to see your newfound company hasn’t ruined your ability to think of good ol’ dad,” he comments as he turns and heads to the dining room.

 

Laura turns to face Carmilla with a monumental pout.

Carmilla gives her a small peck on the cheek. “Shake it off, hon,” she says softly.

“Fine,” Laura huffs. “But I’m _so_ not getting a second plate for him.”

Carmilla laughs as she serves herself and waits for Laura so they can go to the dining room together.

“Smells great, dad,” Laura says, trying to keep the edge from her voice.

“Yes, it all looks amazing, sir,” Carmilla says.

He glances at the two of them before nodding. “Thank you.”

 

They start eating and Carmilla eventually glances over to see that Laura’s finished all of her corn. “Do you want more?” she asks.

Laura grins. “You barely touched yours, silly.”

“That’s why I’m offering it, _duh_. I just realized I forgot to get some mashed potatoes, so I have to get up no matter what.”

Laura pokes at her pile of mashed potatoes. “Tell you what. How about I give you half of my mashed potatoes and you give me half of your pile of corn?”

“Seems like I’m losing out on this deal, Hollis,” Carmilla teases.

“How about I give you all of my mashed potatoes and you give me half of your pile of corn?” Laura offers, giggling.

“Whoa, whoa, that seems overly generous,” Carmilla deadpans.

Laura glares at her. “Do you want the dang mashed potatoes, or not?”

“Well, now I’m thinking there’s something defective about these potatoes that you’re in such a hurry to get rid of them,” Carmilla comments.

“There is _nothing_ wrong with the mashed potatoes,” Charles states.

 

Laura and Carmilla look at him, almost forgetting he was there, with all their bantering.

Carmilla forces a smile. “Alternatively, we could both go get seconds. Later.”

Laura nods emphatically. “Yup, yup, sounds good.”

 

A few minutes pass in silence before he clears his throat. “So, what else have you been lying to me about?”

Laura almost drops her fork. “Excuse me?”

“Well,” he says, gesturing at Carmilla with his fork, “clearly when you told me you were staying away from her, that was a lie. What else has been a lie?”

Laura takes a deep, calming breath. “That’s all.”

“The bookcase falling on you?”

“That happened.”

“You dropping the charges against Will?”

Laura narrows her eyes at him. “Because he was grieving for his friend that night and wasn’t thinking clearly.”

“And Carmilla’s––”

“­­––My corroborating her alibi is _not_ going to change, dad!”

 

He scoffs. “And what was with the field last night?”

“We were on a date,” Laura replies.

“I know our town is small, Laura, but surely there’s somewhere to go that doesn’t involve trespassing.” He lets out a forceful sigh. “Especially in a place that _you_ were specifically told not to visit.”

Carmilla glances over at Laura, confused. _Why was_ she _specifically told not to visit that field?_

“Yeah, told by _you_ ,” Laura says icily. “For a stupid reason.”

“It was a totally justifiable reason!” he yells, slamming his fist on the table.

“ _Justified_?” Laura stands up and Carmilla checks the urge to run from the house, instead suddenly finding the silverware very fascinating. “Just because some thug shot mom dead in that field––”

_Wait, what?_

“––doesn’t mean I’m inherently in danger the moment I go onto it!”

Laura’s father’s mouth is slightly dropped open as he settles back in his chair. He slowly looks from Laura to Carmilla.

 

Laura darts from the table, wiping her eyes as she runs upstairs and slams a door.

Carmilla starts to get up to follow her, but Charles locks eyes with her. “Sit,” he says. His voice is shockingly free of edge or bite. It sounds more like a suggestion than a command, but Carmilla remains seated.

“Did you know about that?”

Carmilla swallows hard and shakes her head.

He sighs and remains silent for a bit. “When Laura was thirteen years old, her mother was kidnapped from the office she worked at–– with Danny’s mom, they were partners–– and taken to that field you were at last night. At the time, it was known for a lot of shady activity–– drug deals, body dumps, what have you. People had been pushing for my department to close it off from public access, but I never did.”

Some of Laura’s sobs make their way downstairs, and Carmilla clenches her fist, trying to will herself not to go upstairs and check on her.

“I had been working a particularly tough case. There was some new player in town, but I couldn’t prove anything. I was getting close, however, and he must’ve felt threatened. So, he––” His voice cracks, and he takes a moment to recompose himself. “He killed my wife as a sign for me to back off.”

 _That’s what Laura means when she says being his daughter has put a target on her back_ , Carmilla realizes.

 

“I’m so sorry for your loss,” Carmilla says softly.

He gives her an unreadable look before continuing. “After that, I changed my tactics, you know? Played it a little more safe. Made it so that field couldn’t be used for anything without my deputies knowing about it. Kept Laura shielded from whatever I could.” He looks at her pointedly. “Or _who_ ever.”

There are hesitant footsteps downstairs as Laura enters the room and stares at her father for a long time.

“Have fun regaling the tale of Amy Hollis?” she asks coldly.

“Laura––”

“ _No_ ,” Laura says, cutting her father off. “I get it, dad. I always have. Losing her, it hurt. Especially the way we did.” She shakes her head. “But Carmilla isn’t a thug. Hell, even her mother isn’t a _thug_. Carmilla is a good, caring person, and she makes me feel like the world isn’t this horrible place that you’ve made it out to be.”

She looks over at Carmilla, who gives her a half smile.

“Maybe she isn’t some hero,” Laura continues, “but she’s like a hero to me. And I hope that I’m one to her. And if we’re each others’ heroes, then isn’t that enough?”

 

The words sit in the air for a while, heavy.

Charles finally nods slowly.

“Laura, can you sit down, please?”

Laura does, in a seat next to Carmilla, who takes her hand and gives it a small squeeze.

He clears his throat. “As unbelievable as it may seem, my intention of inviting you two here tonight was not to interrogate you or break you two up.”

Laura cocks her head to the side. “It wasn’t?”

“No.” He drums his fingers on the table, waiting a couple seconds before speaking again. “I wanted to see how you two interact with each other.”

Carmilla and Laura share a look.

“I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t what I saw tonight.” He looks at Carmilla. “You’ve made my daughter smile and laugh more than I’ve seen her do in a long time. I can see what she means when she calls you caring–– I can see it from the way you look at her.”

Laura blushes and Carmilla feels herself doing the same.

He looks back at Laura. “I know I’ve been unfairly hard on you since… since your mother died. And I know it affected your relationship with your friends, and it probably wound up isolating you. I thought this would keep you safe. And maybe it did. But it also made you unhappy.”

Laura looks down at her lap and he sighs.

“I can’t promise you I’ll stop being so protective, but I can promise that I will try to prioritize your happiness more. That’s why I told Carmilla about your mother. It wasn’t to try to threaten her or scare her away. I just wanted her to know that…”

He swallows hard, and Laura meets his gaze again.

“…That I am trusting her with you. That, as long as you two are dating, I fully expect her to realize how much faith I’m putting in her because of how much I value you.”

 

Laura’s face lights up. “Really?”

A small smile makes its way onto his face as he nods.

Laura squeals and springs out of her seat, grabbing him into a hug that he seems completely unprepared for. She eventually releases him and he looks at Carmilla. His expression seems much more soft now as he regards her.

“I, uh… I really do. Care about her. And I promise I won’t let you down, sir,” Carmilla says, wondering if her face looks as red as it feels.

His smile grows a bit as he chuckles. “Carmilla, call me Charles.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next update will be in a couple days! In the meantime, feel free to leave a comment or swing by and hit me up on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/)  
> Updates are tagged on tumblr as [#Carmilla sheriff AU](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/tagged/carmilla+sheriff+au).  
> Thanks for reading and stay awesome! <3


	18. A Plan Against The Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laura comes up with a plan for her and Carmilla to have some fun for Halloween.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy and stay awesome <3

Laura gently pokes Carmilla’s shoulder. “Psst. Psst, Carm. Pssssst.”

Carmilla groans and nuzzles her face further into Laura’s shoulder.

“Carmilla Karnstein, I’m simply suggesting we move this to your bed, so that you can drool on your pillowcase and not slobber all over my shirt,” Laura giggles.

“No,” Carmilla grumps. “Shoulder comfy.”

“Bed _more_ comfy,” Laura replies, kissing the top of her head.

Carmilla snickers and yawns. “How long have I been asleep?”

“Uhh, since about an hour into the movie,” Laura replies.

Carmilla pulls away, her eyes wide. “Oh, god, we were watching a movie,” she realizes.

Laura laughs. “Yes, but it’s fine. Good ol’ Bonnie and Clyde kept me company while you snored away.”

Carmilla pouts. “I’m so sorry, I––”

“Carm, it’s fine,” Laura says sweetly, giving her a small peck on the cheek. Carmilla’s frown remains.

 

Her phone rings and she glances at the screen, hesitating for a couple seconds before answering the call.

“Hey, Danny,” Laura greets. “No, you didn’t wake me up. What’s up?”

Carmilla’s scowl deepens.

“Uhm, no, no plans… …Wow, that sounds great! I’ll come. Hopefully it’ll go better than the last time I went to one.” Laura laughs. “See you then!” She hangs up and looks over at Carmilla.

“What’d she want?” she asks, snark dripping off every word.

“She… invited me to a Halloween party,” Laura says, blinking at her phone screen.

“Oh, that’s _swell_.”

Laura looks up at Carmilla and smiles. “You’re invited, too. She invited _us_.”

Carmilla drops the sarcasm and stares at Laura for a few seconds.

“Oops, that sounded presumptuous,” Laura says, a small pout forming. “Sorry. Do you even want to go with me?”

 

Carmilla leans forward and gives her a small kiss. “Don’t be stupid, Hollis. I’d love to go with you.”

“Cool!” Laura squeaks. “Coz I’ve already got a couples costume in mind.”

Carmilla quirks an eyebrow and Laura gestures at the main DVD menu on the screen before them. Carmilla’s eyes widen.

“No.”

Laura’s grin grows.

“ _No_.”

 

* * *

 

 

“I knew you could pull off Clyde’s jacket,” Laura giggles.

Carmilla huffs. “I cannot believe we’re Bonnie and Clyde.”

“Oh, pfft. Come on, my dad cracked up when he saw us tonight.” Laura fluffs her hat and checks her long sleeves.

Carmilla stops short about a block from the party.

Laura frowns when she realizes this and turns to face her. “What?”

“I-I never… got a chance to thank you,” Carmilla mumbles.

Laura cocks her head to the side. “For what?”

“After our date in the field… for everything.” Carmilla’s staring at a spot on the ground and Laura gently tilts her face up by the chin.

“Carm?” Laura tries softly.

Carmilla bites her lip and slowly meets Laura’s gaze.

“You didn’t let me take the fall for the trespassing thing alone. And then when your dad came in, you defended me. And you also spoke up for me at dinner. And I–I just…” Carmilla sighs. “Thank you.”

 

Laura’s furrowed her eyebrows together. “Carm, you don’t need to thank me for _any_ of that. The least you deserve is someone in your corner.”

“I guess…” Carmilla says, her eyes wandering over to one of the scars still evident on Laura’s face from Laura’s ‘encounter’ with her mother. “But I don’t deserve someone as good as you.”

“Oh, hush,” Laura says, kissing Carmilla on the cheek. “I’m exactly what you deserve. For better or worse,” she adds with a wink and a giggle.

Carmilla smirks and pulls Laura in for another kiss, this time on the lips.

“Now let’s go rock this Halloween party,” Laura says, grabbing Carmilla’s hand and intertwining their fingers.

 

They walk up to the front door and knock on it, and Danny throws it open. “Hi, guys,” she says, more warmly than Carmilla anticipated. She laughs and grins down at Laura. “Ar-Are you guys dressed as Bonnie and Clyde?”

Laura nods eagerly.

“Is this because of what I called her?”

Carmilla scowls. “She got the idea because you called while we were watching the movie, you string bean.”

“ _Which_ I only put on because of the comment she made,” Laura adds. Danny’s grin widens while Carmilla’s scowl grows.

 

Danny leads them into the house and onto a couch, where LaFontaine and Perry are also sitting.

“Well, obviously you remember Danny,” Laura says to Carmilla, “but in case you forgot, this is LaFontaine and Perry.”

Carmilla nods at the two redheads, who are dressed as salt- and pepper-shakers.   “Better costume than the other ginger,” she remarks.

Danny narrows her eyes at her. “It’ll make more sense when the other half of my costume shows up.”

As if on cue, a “Hi, hotties!” calls through the room. Danny waves Kirsch over.

“Ah, I get it!” Laura says, giggling. Danny and Kirsch are dressed as Pebbles and Bam-Bam.

“Oh, I thought you were supposed to be a slice of watermelon,” Carmilla drawls. Laura elbows her and gives her a pointed look. “I mean… _you two look amazing_ ,” Carmilla corrects, her voice extra saccharine.

 

“ _Anyway_ ,” Perry says, trying to change the subject, “where does your father think you are, Laura?”

“Oh, he knows I’m at a party,” Laura answers.

Kirsch’s eyes widen. “ _Dude_ , does that mean the beer isn’t safe? _Does that mean our batch of Pilsner isn’t safe?_ ”

Laura shakes her head. “No, no, I promised him I wouldn’t drink.”

LaF laughs. “You came to a Halloween party, dressed as Bonnie Parker, but won’t drink?”

“Oh, no, ginger squad,” Carmilla says. “Laura’s gonna drink. Her dad just won’t know about it, that’s all.”

Danny raises an eyebrow. “Hollis, I know I’m not supposed to lecture you on lying to your dad, but––”

“Relax, Danny,” Laura says, nudging her. “Carm and I have it all covered.”

She and Carmilla exchange a look and smirk. Laura glances back at her friends.

“Now, I thought this was supposed to be a big Halloween party! Where’s the partying?”

LaF grins and reaches out for Laura’s hand. “Just try not to get your ass kicked this time.”

  

* * *

 

 

“Hey, jolly red giant,” Carmilla greets as she rounds a corner. “I seem to have lost Laura while I went to the bathroom. Have you seen her around?”

Danny nods. “I think she went into that room a couple minutes ago.”

Carmilla grumbles a ‘thank you’ before starting to walk away. Danny grabs her by the elbow.

“She told me her dad invited you over for dinner. Did you really get her arrested for trespassing onto that field?”

Carmilla glares at her and then at the hand resting on her elbow. Danny lets her go.

“What’s it to you?”

Danny hesitates, and then sighs. “Look, Laura and I grew up together. Our moms were best friends, so we were always together. And then we dated. And then we broke up, but remained friends. Best friends.” She shrugs. “I know I go overboard with the protecting shtick. And it’s funny, because she’s never needed it. She took on her own bullies in the playground, she never took crap from anyone.”

Carmilla crosses her arms. “You don’t say,” she says sarcastically.

“I guess that’s why we were never meant to be. Just wanted different things.” Danny swallows hard. “Plus it probably didn’t help when we all sorta stopped inviting her to parties. We just didn’t know where to draw the line with her, y’know?”

Carmilla gives her a blank look. “No, I don’t. She shouldn’t be treated differently just because she’s the chief deputy’s daughter.”

Danny gives her a hesitant nod. “Well, that just made it more obvious that you and her fit really well together. You look out for each other when you need to, and you challenge each other. It’s like, when she met you, she met her match.”

 

Carmilla stares at her in silence.

“And I’m just glad that you guys don’t have to worry about Laura’s dad getting in the way,” Danny continues. “After Laura told me about the dinner, she asked me if I could–– and I quote–– ‘for once in my life, put my weird closeness with her dad to some use.’ She asked me to call him up and ask for his honest opinion about you two dating.”

Carmilla quirks an eyebrow. “And…?”

“He meant what he said. You make her happy. You support her.” She gives her a small smile. “I almost forgot what it was like to see her smile and laugh so much. That’s all he wants. That’s all _I_ want.” She gives Carmilla a small, tentative pat on the shoulder. “Congrats, Karnstein, you’ve got approval from the two most overly protective people in Laura’s life.”

Carmilla snorts. “I wasn’t looking for it.”

“Makes the victory that much sweeter, doesn’t it?”

Carmilla narrows her eyes at her. “You’re not as bad as I thought you were, Clifford.”

Danny grins at her. “Let’s go find your girl, hmm?”

Carmilla follows Danny into the room she had pointed out earlier.

 

“Finally!” Laura squeals, grabbing Carmilla before she even spots her. She yanks Carmilla to one side of the beer pong table.

Kirsch waves from the other side and points at Danny.

“Little hot–– Hollis wants to play against us,” he explains.

Laura looks up eagerly at Carmilla, and then at Danny.

Danny smirks and takes her spot next to Kirsch.

“Are you up for it?” Laura asks sweetly, poking Carmilla in the stomach. She’d already had a few shots and was smiling even more than usual. “If not, I’ll just grab LaF or something…”

Carmilla shakes her head. “Let’s kick their ass, Laura.”

“Yes, and let’s be bad asses,” Laura asserts.

Danny rolls her eyes. “Pfft, one trespassing arrest doesn’t make you a badass.”

“Maybe not, but kicking your butt–– your _ass_ , will make me one!”

 

And kick their asses, they do.

After a few rounds, Danny and Kirsch finally surrender after being beaten mercilessly by Laura and Carmilla. Laura does a few more shots with LaF, Perry, Danny, and Kirsch.

Carmilla is watching from the couch when she sees Laura stumble slightly towards her.

“Are you _sure_ you don’t want a couple more shots?” Laura asks, plopping down next to her.

Carmilla chuckles. “I’m sure, cutie.”

Laura snuggles up to her shoulder. “But I want you to have fun,” she replies sadly.

“ _Hey_ ,” Carmilla says, gently pulling away to look at her. “I _am_ , okay? Even got a stamp of approval from Danny.”

Laura giggles. “Really?”

“ _Yes_ , silly,” Carmilla nods.

Laura rests her forehead against her shoulder. “Mmm. You’re the best Clyde a Bonnie could ask for.”

Laura’s phone rings and she lets out a groan before looking at the caller ID.

 

“Holy assholes,” Laura gasps. “Carm! Carm! It’s him! It’s _him_!”

“We really gotta teach you how to curse properly one of these days,” Carmilla laughs and kisses her on the nose. She takes the phone. “Here goes nothing, cutie.”

She answers Laura’s phone and places a finger against Laura’s lips to keep her silent as the girl bounces in her seat.

“Hello, Chief Hollis,” Carmilla greets smoothly.

Danny, having seen Laura hand Carmilla her phone, frowns and walks over.

“Yes, Laura is fine… …And yes, perfectly sober.”

Danny raises an eyebrow and Laura and Carmilla both give her a pointed look.

“…I’m answering her phone because she seems to have tired herself out,” Carmilla continues. “She’s asleep on a couch.”

She looks over at Laura, who nods emphatically and gives a thumbs-up.

“…Yes, I’m right next to her. She’s fine.”

Carmilla shoots Laura a wink and Laura smiles at her dopily.

“Yes, a ride sounds great. See you soon, sir.” Carmilla hangs up and hands Laura back her phone. “Step one complete.”

 

LaF and Perry walk over to the trio. “Was that your dad calling you? Are you leaving?”

“Yep, and he should be here soon.” Carmilla nods at them. “Can you get us two more shots?” She smiles at Laura. “One for the road?”

“Only if you do it with me,” Laura says, grinning at Carmilla.

Danny grins at LaF. “One for me, too.”

LaF grins and leaves, returning with five shots and hands them out. They do a quick clink and down them, with Laura giggling afterwards while pressed against Carmilla’s side.

 

“Okay, now tell me what the heck is going on here, Bonnie and Clyde,” Danny says, amused.

Laura’s head lolls to the side and she stretches for a yawn. “Well, I really wanted me and Carm to come to this party and have fun. And drink. But my dad was all over us. So we came up with an idea.” Laura yawns again.

“Laura’s dad is now under the impression that she fell asleep sober. That way, he won’t be able to tell she’s slurring or whatever. And the smell will be masked by this,” Carmilla holds up a pack of fruity gum, “and any leftover smell can be blamed on the fact that people were drinking around her.”

Laura nods, nuzzling her face against Carmilla’s shoulder before pulling away.

 

“Unless someone tells him otherwise?” Laura says, slowly looking at Danny.

Danny’s eyes catch something over Laura’s shoulder and she frowns. “Get the gum,” she says to Carmilla.

Carmilla quirks an eyebrow. “What?”

“ _The gum,_ ” Danny repeats, standing up. “That’s the chief’s civilian car. He’s here.”

Laura’s eyes widen as Carmilla hands her a few sticks of gum.

“I’ll stall,” Danny says, dashing out.

Laura’s chewing and pouts at Carmilla. “You don’t think she’ll tell my dad, do you?”

“I… hope not…” Carmilla frowns. “I’ll go out there and check.” She looks at LaFontaine and Perry. “See if you can get the smell out of her mouth, yeah?”

They nod and Carmilla kisses Laura on the cheek.

 

Carmilla walks to the doorway and lingers for a second.

“… _Yes, sir. She didn’t drink at all. Just sat around talking, or dancing,_ ” Danny says.

Carmilla smiles and steps out. “Hello, sir.”

Laura’s father gives her a small polite smile. “Hello. And how’s our girl?”

“Tired herself out dancing,” Carmilla replies. “I don’t really want to wake her up, so I was wondering if we could just carry her to the car?”

His smile starts to disappear, and a skeptical look takes its place. “I’d rather she be awake on the ride home…”

Danny flashes a smile. “Believe me, Charles, I tried waking her up before you got here. She’s dead to the world.”

He looks from Danny to Carmilla, then back to Danny.

Before he can say anything, there’s some rustling noises from within the house.

 

“Little hottie, coming through,” Kirsch’s voice says. He emerges, carrying a ‘sleeping’ Laura in his arms. “Sorry, sir,” he says, when he almost walks right into her father. “I mean, ‘little powerhouse of a woman, coming through.’”

“She’s really asleep,” he comments, shocked.

“Yeah. Should probably get her into the car, now,” Carmilla says to Kirsch.

Kirsch nods and heads towards the car, waiting for it to be unlocked.

The chief pulls out his keys and the car beeps. Danny runs over and opens it for him.

“I, uh… Have to admit, I thought this whole thing was a ruse,” he says to Carmilla.

She gives a small chuckle. “Can’t blame you, Chief. But I promise, Laura was in good hands all night.”

He nods and heads to the car with Carmilla.

Kirsch has managed to get Laura into the car and Charles puts a hand on his shoulder. “Thanks, kiddo. I’ve got it from here.”

 

He leans into the car and buckles Laura in, not-so-subtly sniffing her slightly. “I smell some booze on her,” he notes.

“Ah, that’d be my fault,” Danny says. “I didn’t see her and I tripped over her and spilled a couple drinks I was holding near her.”

He stares at her for a few seconds before cracking a smile. “Some things never change, huh?”

Danny laughs and shakes her head. “Nope. It was like the fruit punch at prom all over again.”

Charles gets into the driver’s seat. “Well, thank you for looking after Laura.” He looks at Carmilla. “ _All_ of you.”

Carmilla smiles and shrugs. “You’re welcome, sir.”

He hesitates for a moment before clearing his throat. “Need a ride home?”

Carmilla pauses, shocked. “Yes, please.” She gestures back at the house. “Can I just say goodbye first?”

He smiles and nods.

 

Carmilla walks Danny and Kirsch back to the house. Perry and LaFontaine are standing in the doorway and wave at the Chief.

“Thanks for helping out,” Carmilla says, hushed.

“Yeah, Perry came up with the idea to have Kirsch carry her out, rather than have him come in,” LaF explains.

Kirsch beams. “Ah, it was nothing. I figured we all kinda owe her for the past few years.”

“Definitely.” Danny pats Carmilla on the arm. “Hope our lil’ Hollis had fun tonight.”

Carmilla smiles at all of them gratefully before giving a short wave. “Goodnight, dimwit squad.”

“Goodnight, whipped Karnstein,” LaF teases.

Carmilla rolls her eyes and turns away, trying to hide a grin as she gets to the car.

 

“You can sit in the back or in the front, whichever you’d prefer,” Charles says to her.

“I think I’ll sit in the back,” Carmilla replies, settling in.

She gives him her address and tries to hide her stolen glances at Laura, who actually seems to be asleep.

“She looks so peaceful while she’s sleeping, doesn’t she?”

“Yeah.” Carmilla smiles. “Unless she’s having a dream.”

He laughs. “Right, and then she does this thing where she sorta…”

“Bunches her face up?” Carmilla offers.

“That’s it,” he replies.

 

The car ride falls into a comfortable silence afterwards, until they reach Carmilla’s house. She feels a hand wrap around hers and give a small squeeze. Carmilla gives a not-sleeping Laura a kiss on the cheek.

“Good night, cutie,” she whispers.

She doesn’t miss the small twitch on Laura’s lips, fighting a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next update will be in a couple days! Feel free to leave a comment or swing by and hit me up on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/)  
> Updates are tagged on tumblr as [#Carmilla sheriff AU](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/tagged/carmilla+sheriff+au).  
> 


	19. Room for One More

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a close call with Laura's father, Carmilla and Laura must also deal with an unexpected guest during a date.

Carmilla frowns as she turns the corner to head to Laura’s house. She thought they had agreed to meet at Carmilla’s house before heading out for lunch, but it was nearing an hour and Laura hadn’t said anything about being late, so Carmilla thought maybe they got their wires crossed.

But that doesn’t explain why Laura hasn’t responded to any of Carmilla’s texts or answered any of her calls.

Carmilla checks her phone again. _Nope, still nothing_.

 _Maybe she overslept_?

She knocks on the front door, but there’s no response. She tries a few more times before trying to call Laura’s home phone. It rings and rings.

A sudden thought hits her and almost knocks her off her feet. _My mother_.

What if more thugs had gotten to Laura?

 

Carmilla quickly scrolls through their conversation. The last text from Laura was sent early last night, when Laura said she was coming home from her dad’s. But there was no text after that saying she ever got home safe, or––

 _No_.

She quickly dials her mother, but it goes to voice mail. She tries calling Will and Mattie as well, to no avail.

 

“Wow, Laura’s so popular,” a voice says from behind her, making her jump.

Carmilla turns and finds herself face-to-face with Laura’s father. “Uh, hi, chief.”

 _Maybe he knows where Laura is_.

“Relax, I’m not here to awkwardly third-wheel on your lunch date,” he says with a small smile. “Laura just left her jacket at the house last night so I was returning it. Except she hasn’t answered any of my texts or calls this morning, so I thought I’d just walk it over.”

Carmilla swallows hard. “Y-You haven’t heard from her, either?”

“No.” He cocks his head to the side. “Is she not home?”

“I tried calling her home phone,” Carmilla explains, trying to keep her voice even. “But there’s no answer in there, and my texts and calls have also gone unanswered since last night.”

 

“Well, she texted to say she was almost home,” he says slowly.

 _‘Almost home’ and_ actually _being home are two entirely different things_ , Carmilla frets. Once again, her mind wanders to wondering if her mother, or Will, went after Laura again.

“Is there something I should know?” Charles asks, his tone shifting from hesitantly warm to a slightly harsher one.

Carmilla stares up at him. Lying to him was easier when Laura was by her side. Now all she wanted to do was spill everything to him–– about the alibi being a lie, about Laura getting captured and beaten–– all of it. Especially if keeping the truth from him was wasting time that could be spent finding Laura.

“There’s something you should know…” Charles looks at her expectantly. “Well––”

A car pulls up and Laura steps out, followed by Danny from the driver’s side.

 

“Hey, sorry to keep you waiting,” Laura says, kissing Carmilla on the cheek.

Carmilla tries to force a smile onto her face. “Where were you?” she asks, too cheerfully.

Laura laughs nervously. “Well, last night, right as I was getting home, I tripped on the curb and fell and my phone broke.”

Danny rolls her eyes. “I get a call from this dweeb on her home phone saying, ‘The curb and gravity broke my phone. Come with me to get a new one tomorrow?’”

Laura grins sheepishly.

“Why––” Carmilla’s voice cracks so she clears her throat. “Why didn’t you call me?”

Laura’s sheepish grin grows. “Well, I don’t have your phone number memorized. But I’ve had Danny’s memorized since elementary school…”

“Ah.” Carmilla nods.

Danny sighs. “Well, now she can call you from her brand-new phone.”

 

“Thank you, Danny,” Laura says, beaming up at her. She looks over at her father. “Not to sound rude, dad, but… what are you doing here?”

“You left your jacket at the house last night,” he replies, glancing at Carmilla. “And Carmilla was about to tell me why she looked so worried when you weren’t home or answering texts or calls,” he adds pointedly.

Laura’s eyes widen. “Oh, were you?”

Carmilla bites her lip. “Yes. Ah. Well. You see…” She doesn’t miss the look Danny and Laura share.

“Oh, just tell him already, Karnstein,” Danny says.

“Tell me _what_?” he demands.

Laura playfully nudges Carmilla. “Carm here is a softy,” she says, giggling and winking at Danny.

He raises an eyebrow.

Danny makes a gagging noise. “Whereas I’m overbearingly protective, she’s just a pile of worried goo when it comes to Laura.”

Laura nudges Carmilla again, this time a little more pointedly.

 

She finally seems to catch on. “Oh! Yeah, that’s me, just… constantly worrying over her.”

“That’s what you wanted to tell me?” he asks skeptically.

Carmilla nods. “It’s not really something I’m proud of. I have a reputation.”

Laura laughs. “Yeah, Ms. Dark and Broody doesn’t like people knowing she’s got a soft spot for me.”

“Hmm.” Charles squints at Carmilla a bit before chuckling. “Sorry to burst your bubble, Carmilla, but that’s pretty darn obvious.”

Carmilla frowns and crosses her arms.

He chuckles again and turns to leave. “Have fun at lunch, girls.”

“Bye, dad!” Laura calls after him.

 

After he’s out of earshot, she lets out a sigh of relief.

“Thanks for vouching for her, Danny,” Laura says.

Danny smirks. “What I said wasn’t exactly a stretch.”

“True,” Laura giggles.

Danny gives them a small wave. “Well, I’m off. Enjoy the new phone, Laura.”

“Thanks! And thanks for coming with me.”

Danny gets back into her car and pulls away.

 

Laura pokes Carmilla in the arm. “What were you really going to tell him?”

Carmilla sighs and shrugs. “I was just really worried. We weren’t even sure you made it home okay and you weren’t answering texts or calls…” she mumbles. “So I thought maybe my mother went back on her word or that Will went after you...”

Laura gives her a small smile. “You were _really_ worried about me?”

Carmilla slings an arm over Laura’s shoulder and pulls her in close. “Of course.”

Laura nuzzles her face against Carmilla. “Mmm. Softy.”

Carmilla lets out a disgusted sigh and withdraws her arm, swatting Laura playfully. “Ya killin’ me, Hollis.”

 

* * *

 

They settle into their diner booth and pore over their menus when someone clears their throat nearby.

“Have room for one more?”

Carmilla freezes when she recognizes the voice. She turns around slowly. “Mattie?”

Mattie smirks and all but pushes Carmilla over so they’re on the same side of the booth.

“Uh, hi,” Laura says nervously.

“Relax,” Mattie says, waving her hand. “I’m not here to get you kidnapped and beaten again. Not yet, anyway.”

Carmilla glares at Mattie.

“Look, I miss my Carm,” Mattie explains with an annoyed sigh. “We used to be inseparable, and now the only time you’re out is when you’re with her.”

Carmilla’s face softens a bit. “You promise you’re not here under mother’s orders or anything?”

 

“Oh!” the waitress says, bringing over two glasses of water. “I didn’t realize there’d be a third person joining you, Laura.”

Laura gives her a tight-lipped smile. “Neither did I, Natalie.”

Natalie gives her a look before putting on an all-too-big smile back on. “Water?” she asks Mattie, who nods. “Still deciding on what to order?”

“Mmhmm,” Laura responds.

Natalie smiles warmly at Laura before walking away. “I’ll be right back with your water.”

 

“So. New phone,” Carmilla says, staring into her glass of water.

Laura grins before it fades and she bites her lip. “What were you about to tell my dad before I showed up?”

Carmilla shakes her head. “Nothing.”

“Yes, lil sis,” Mattie says, giving Carmilla a pointed look. “What were you about to tell the _chief deputy_?”

Carmilla sighs and closes her eyes.

“ _Carmilla_ ,” Mattie presses.

“I was going to tell him the truth, okay? About her alibi being a lie, about her getting captured and beaten–– _because of you_ –– because I thought maybe mother took her again, or maybe Will went after her…”

Mattie’s eyes widen and she starts to say something, but Laura cuts in.

 

“That’s so _stupid_ , Carmilla!”

Carmilla and Mattie stare at her, shocked by the outburst.

Laura sputters. “I mean–– I–I… Of all the–– the fucky ideas!”

Mattie leans over to whisper to Carmilla, but loud enough for Laura to hear. “Does she mean, ‘shitty ideas?’” Carmilla nods.

 

“My dad is _actually_ okay with us dating and now you’re gonna just tell him the truth about all the lies we’ve been feeding him?”

Carmilla’s mouth drops open. “I thought you were in danger!”

Laura scoffs. “Tha–That doesn’t _matter_!”

Carmilla and her stare at each other for a few seconds before Laura takes a deep breath.

“Okay, I lied. It does matter. It’s just…” She runs a hand through her hair and buries her face in her hands. “I just don’t want him to do something to you because of me,” she admits shakily.

 

“Or if he finds out you killed a man?” Mattie suggests.

Laura shakes her head immediately. “This isn’t about me,” she replies. “If he finds out _Carmilla_ killed a man, he’ll have her arrested so quickly and…” She sighs. “My alibi is pretty much the only thing keeping him from taking her in for questioning.” She shrugs. “And if he finds out the Dean hauled me in and kicked the crap out of me to keep me quiet, he’ll definitely string her up in the town square.”

Mattie remains silent, her expression unreadable.

 

They make their orders to Natalie, who quickly notes the increasing tension and makes her exit.

Carmilla’s staring into her glass, her hands fidgeting. Laura reaches out and grabs Carmilla’s hands.

“Promise me you won’t tell him, ever,” Laura says desperately. “I don’t want something to happen to you.”

Carmilla swallows hard. “Okay.”

Laura gives her a small smile. “Okay.”

Mattie looks back and forth between them.

 

The food comes and the trio eats silently for a couple minutes before Laura wordlessly picks up her pickle and places it on Carmilla’s plate.

“Thank you,” Carmilla mumbles, taking a bite out of it.

“You don’t like pickles?” Mattie asks Laura, raising an eyebrow.

Laura shakes her head and giggles. “Carm just likes them _more_.”

Carmilla grins at her and finishes the last bite of her burger. Laura hands her the ketchup bottle and Carmilla takes it, her grin widening. She squirts it onto her fries, but it comes out in one burst and splatters all over her shirt.

Carmilla frowns down.

“You’re a mess,” Laura teases, already out of the booth. “But you’re my mess.”

Carmilla smirks at her.

“Be right back with some wet towels,” Laura says, leaving with her usual bounce in her step.

 

Mattie settles back in her seat, giving Carmilla a look.

“What?” Carmilla asks, stuffing a fry into her mouth.

Mattie shrugs. “I didn’t know you loved pickles or that you only eat fries after you’ve finished your burger until you were like, 15.”

Carmilla cocks her head to the side. “And…?”

“ _And_ I’ve known you almost your whole life. We’re practically sisters,” Mattie continues. “But you’ve known Laura for, what? A couple weeks? And she already knows all this stuff?”

Carmilla chuckles. “So, what? You’re jealous?”

Mattie drums her fingers on the table and rolls her eyes. “As if.”

“Then what’s your point, Mattie?” Carmilla chews on another fry.

Mattie sighs. “Look, you know I… I love you, right? And I’ll always look out for you. Protect you.”

Carmilla nods slowly.

“But it seems like this Laura has every intention of protecting you as much as I do. Maybe even more,” Mattie admits quietly.

Carmilla doesn’t respond, but gives her a small smile.

 

Mattie laughs. “You know, when I first dumped her at your front door and you went off on me, I thought you were just being over-protective without justification.” She shakes her head. “But it’s a mutual thing, isn’t it? You look after her and she looks after you.”

Carmilla swallows hard. “She brings out the best in me, Mattie,” she admits softly. “She’s never looked at me and seen a criminal, or anything bad. She just sees… _me_.”

Mattie nods slowly. “And she makes you happy,” she states. “This is the happiest I’ve ever seen you.”

Carmilla chuckles softly. “Yeah. Yeah, she does.”

“Your mother’s noticed it, too,” Mattie continues.

Carmilla’s smile disappears and her eyes widen.

“She wanted me to find out if Laura was the cause of this sudden change in attitude.”

Carmilla stares down into her glass.

Mattie sighs. “Carm, I know you and your mother have had your differences. With that girl Ell, and with the way she tries to control you. But she does want you to be happy. And if this girl Laura is doing that, I don’t think she’ll even try to stand in the way.”

Carmilla looks back up at her. “Really?”

Mattie nods.

Carmilla takes a deep breath. “Because I think I lo––”

 

“––Got the towels!” Laura says, making both of them jump. “Geez, for a couple of criminals, you’re kinda faint-of-heart.”

Mattie is the first to compose herself. “Just give Carm the towels,” she growls.

Carmilla takes them and watches as Laura sits. “What took you so long?” she asks.

As if on cue, the waitress places down a large bowl with a brownie in front of them.

Laura grins at Carmilla. “I ordered us dessert!”

The waitress hands out three spoons.

Mattie slowly takes hers and gives Laura a strange look.

“What?” Laura asks self-consciously.

“I didn’t realize I was special enough to split a brownie with you two,” Mattie replies, the shock evident in her tone, if only slightly.

Laura nods and beams at her. “Of course, silly! This diner serves the best brownie and who am I to start excluding people from it? Now, dig in!”

Mattie gives her a genuine smile and Carmilla tries to fight the smirk that makes its way onto her face.

 

They’re almost done with the dessert when Laura checks her phone for the time. “Anyway, I was thinking we just watch some Netflix later?” she says, her smile growing.

Carmilla rolls her eyes. “Of course you were.”

“Wanna join us, Mattie?”

Mattie shakes her head. “Ah, thanks for the offer. But I do have other things on my schedule.”

Laura nods, her mouth stuffed full with brownie.

Mattie laughs and stands. “Spot me?” she says to Carmilla, who nods. “Well, Laura Hollis, it has been a pleasure.”

Laura stands up and, to the other girls’ shock, wraps her arms around Mattie in a hug. Mattie slowly returns the hug in the form of awkward patting. “Pleasure was all mine, Mattie,” Laura says as she pulls away.

Mattie blinks a couple times and chuckles. “Carmilla, you picked a good one.” She lightly boops Laura on the nose, a gesture Carmilla has only seen Mattie do to her. “Take care of our girl, okay?”

Laura nods and sits back down.

Mattie waves goodbye and starts to leave, but stops when Carmilla calls out her name. “I, uh… I love you, too.”

Mattie’s eyes dart from Carmilla, to Laura, back to Carmilla. She gives her a small smile and nods as she turns around.

 

“So what were you and Mattie talking about while I was obtaining us this enormous brownie?” Laura asks.

“You.”

Laura’s eyes widen. “M-Me?”

Carmilla laughs. “All good things, cutie. All good things.”

Laura giggles nervously. “As long as I don’t get kidnapped again any time soon, I’ll leave it alone.”

Carmilla grins. “Just try not to break your phone again anytime soon, yeah?”

“I promise nothing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next update will be in a couple days! Feel free to leave a comment or swing by and hit me up on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/)  
> Updates are tagged on tumblr as [#Carmilla sheriff AU](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/tagged/carmilla+sheriff+au).  
> It's also up on [Wattpad](https://www.wattpad.com/story/59977203-god's-lonely-man/parts/).


	20. One Month

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laura and Carmilla celebrate the one month mark

Laura huffs as her phone rings. She has one arm in her coat, and the other is moving stuff around to locate her keys and wallet. As much as she loves spending time with Carmilla in her place, her place has definitely got messier. She manages to get the coat on and answers the call, holding the phone in place with her shoulder to free up both hands.

“Hi, dad,” Laura greets. “I’m just about to leave.”

“Oh, okay,” he says slowly.

Laura quirks an eyebrow but doesn’t comment on it as she finds the wallet and keys. “Yup, leaving now.”

She opens her door and finds Carmilla standing there.

 

“Uh, hey, Carm,” Laura says, awkwardly grabbing her phone with her hand. “I’m about to head out to lunch with my dad––”

“––No, you’re not,” he says on the phone.

Laura furrows her eyebrows together. “I’m not?”

He chuckles on the other end. “Call it an early Christmas present.”

“Dad, it’s still mid-November,” Laura giggles.

“A _very_ early Christmas present, then.” There’s a beat. “Have fun today, kiddo…” He clears his throat. “ _You know._ ”

“Yeah,” Laura replies, pocketing her phone after he hangs up.

 

“Not that I’m disappointed, but why did my dad cancel on me so I could be with you?” Laura asks sweetly.

Carmilla bites her lip. “Uhm, s–so we could spend the day together.” She looks more shy than Laura has ever seen her as she holds out her hand for her to take.

Laura giggles. “Hang on one second.” She goes back into her house, walking back out with a bag.

“What’s that?”

“It’s a bag,” Laura replies vaguely, locking her door with a grin.

“Wow, what would I do without you,” Carmilla says flatly.

Laura laughs. “It’s a surprise.” She takes Carmilla’s hand and interlocks their fingers, giggling when Carmilla scoffs. “And where are we off to?”

“ _It’s a surprise_ ,” Carmilla mocks. Laura pouts at her but allows Carmilla to drag her to her car. “Looks like we’re both in for a surprise.” 

 

* * *

 

 

It takes a bit of a drive, but Carmilla doesn’t mind much when Laura’s in the passenger seat rambling. It’s only when Laura’s been silent for ten seconds that Carmilla glances over at her.

“What’s wrong, cupcake?”

Laura stares into the side mirror. “Hmm.”

“Laura?”

“That car’s been behind us for a while,” Laura says slowly.

Carmilla shrugs. “Maybe they’re heading to the same place we are.”

Laura grins. “Which is…?”

“Nice try, Hollis.”

Laura laughs and they drive for another ten minutes before getting to the place.

 

“Here we are,” Carmilla says, opening the door for Laura. Her eyes light up and Carmilla can’t fight the grin that makes its way onto her face.

“ _Carm_!” Laura squeals. “The ice skating rink? I haven’t been here since— in a long time!”

Carmilla blushes a bit. “Yeah, I… Well, I stopped by the station to talk to your dad about what we should do today, and he listed off a bunch of things that your mother used to take you to do and that you haven’t done since he’s never had time to take you… And this was on the list.” She’s not sure how she wound up rambling.

Laura notices it, too, and giggles. “Looks like you’re picking up my verbal diarrhea.”

“Dear. God. No,” Carmilla whines. Laura beams at her and Carmilla rolls her eyes. “Anyway. Aren’t you going to ask me what today is?”

 

Laura gives her shoulder a small shove. “Oh, pfft, sillyhead. Of course I know what today is.” She grabs Carmilla’s hand and tugs her towards the entrance. “It’s been one month since we kissed at the top of the Ferris wheel.”

Carmilla’s eyes widen. “You remembered?”

“What do you think is in that bag?” Laura grins at her. “But that bag is gonna have to wait til after this. Don’t want us breaking it or anything.”

Carmilla’s a bit stunned and is still lagging behind.

“Come _on_ , Carm,” Laura says insistently. “You’ll see what’s in the bag later!”

 

* * *

 

Soon, they have their rental skates laced up and are heading out onto the ice. It’s still pretty early in the season, and even though it’s an indoor rink, the ice is mostly empty.

Carmilla steps out first and holds her hand out for Laura. She takes it, and soon they’re taking their first lap together. Laura has a wide smile, her shakiness quickly disappearing.

“Not bad for someone who hasn’t skated since she was thirteen,” Carmilla comments.

Laura laughs. “So I might have begged Danny to take me out here a few times while we were in high school. And convinced her not to tell my dad.”

“Wow, what a rebel.”

Laura shrugs. “Told you I’m a badass, Karnstein.”

Carmilla chuckles as they start their third lap.

 

“Can I tell you something?” Laura eventually asks.

“Mmhmm.”

Laura chews on her lip for a few seconds before continuing. “I thought I was being a sap for remembering our monthiversary and wanting to celebrate it.”

Carmilla slows to a stop, and Laura does the same. She stares at Laura for a bit.

“First of all,” Carmilla huffs, “you celebrate when a couple on TV are in the same space.”

Laura looks offended. “Swan Queen are meant to b––”

“ _––Second of all,_ ” Carmilla interrupts, “I love that about you, because you get excited over everything little thing that happens to you every day.”

“Do not,” Laura grumbles.

“Laura, you’ve shown more happiness over a manipulated gifset on tumblr than most girls would from getting a diamond ring,” Carmilla comments.

Laura giggles. “I’d make some comment about making an OTP out of a diamond and another rock, but I’m sure the _Steven Universe_ fandom will get around to that.”

Carmilla rolls her eyes with a smile. “ _Third of all_ … There is no way you will ever be a bigger sap than me.”

Laura raises an eyebrow. “Oh, wanna bet?”

“Maybe.” Carmilla leans in and gives Laura a small peck on the lips before they start skating again. “I’m just saying, you’re stupid, you know that? Why would you wanting to celebrate our monthiversary be something I wouldn’t want to do?”

Laura shrugs. “You’re the first person that totally embraces and encourages me to be a total dork.”

“Well, that’s because I lo––” Carmilla clears her throat. “––love that you’re a dork.”

 

Laura giggles as they come back to the entrance.

“I think I’m gonna go switch my rentals. I can skate on the figure skating kind, but I prefer hockey skates.”

Carmilla’s eyes widen. “You do?” Laura nods. “I do, too.”

Laura points back at the rental booth. “Then let’s switch it up, Karnstein.”

 

Soon they’re back on the ice.

“So, why do you like these type of skates better?” Laura asks, bumping her shoulder against Carmilla’s since they’re not holding hands at the moment.

“Like ten years ago, Will was working as a skate guard to help traffic some––”

Carmilla cuts herself off and coughs. Laura doesn’t bother commenting on it and chuckles.

“––He was working as a skate guard and was supposed to be baby-sitting me. Which was totally bogus because he’s like, barely four years older than me.” Carmilla rolls her eyes at the memory. “Anyway, he started taunting me and saying I had ‘girl skates’ and I wanted him to stop so I switched skates.”

Laura laughs. “Now who’s the rebel?”

“Yeah, well, then Mattie came over and found out I fell for Will’s taunting and made me switch back. But there’s just something about hockey skates, you know?”

 

Laura nods. “I like them better because you can race.”

“Oooooh,” Carmilla teases. “A little speed demon, are we?”

Laura narrows her eyes in a glare and bunches up her face. “Race ya,” she hisses playfully.

Carmilla smirks and tugs Laura to the wall, pointing across the rink. “First one to skate over there, touch the other wall, and skate back here wins.”

Laura nods emphatically, her tongue sticking out. “You’re _so_ on, Karnstein.”

 

Carmilla counts down to one and then they’re off. “Eat my snow, Hollis!”

Laura is pushing off from the balls of her feet harder, but Carmilla has longer legs and takes bigger strides.

They’re almost evenly matched. Except once they get across the ice to one end. Laura reaches out and, as she touches the wall, does a crossover, whereas Carmilla simply turns, digging in the back of her blade for a sharper one. This gives Laura a slight advantage.

“Can’t eat your snow if I’m in front of you!” Laura cackles.

Carmilla lets out a growl and gives herself a burst of speed, as much as she can muster. She’s so intent on catching up to Laura, however, that she trips over her own skates as she reaches her. Carmilla loses her footing and slips, her momentum causing her to slide.

 

She fails to hold back a gasp as she realizes Laura is in her trajectory. She tries to yell out a warning, but all that comes out is a prolonged, “ _Shiiiiiiiiiiit!_ ”

Carmilla collides with Laura, who doesn’t even see it coming as she’s knocked over. Laura’s feet are swept out from under her as Carmilla barrels on through, passing her. Laura flops backwards, slamming hard onto the ice with a yelp.

 

Carmilla only stops sliding when she hits the wall. She quickly scrambles to her feet and skates back to Laura, who’s lying still on the ice.

A skate guard comes over from his post and gets to Laura the same time as Carmilla.

Carmilla kneels down and hesitantly pats Laura’s shoulder, but there’s no response and her eyes remain closed.

“Laura?” Carmilla tries, her voice small.

The skate guard, a thin young man, kneels next to them. “Holy crap, it’s Laura Hollis,” he frets. “If she dies on my ice, Chief Hollis is gonna _kill me_.”

“Yeah, well imagine what he’ll do to the girlfriend that dragged her here,” Carmilla snaps.

 

There’s a small groan and Laura’s eyes slowly blink open. “Carm?”

Carmilla lets out a small sigh of relief. “Thank god.”

Laura’s eyes slowly wander from Carmilla’s face to the skate guard’s. “J.P.?”

He laughs. “Hello, Laura.”

They help her sit up and her hand flies to her head as she winces.

“Careful, there,” Carmilla says gently.

Laura lets out another groan. “What happened?”

“You and your girlfriend raced across the rink, in spite of signs explicitly telling you not to do so, and she fell behind you and wiped you out,” J.P. answers, using a fake-scolding tone.

Laura grins at him sheepishly. “Is that your not-so-subtle way of kicking us off the ice?”

 

“Normally, yes,” he says, hesitating. “But it’s a slow day and my boss is out on a break. As long as you’re okay, I don’t see any reason why we can’t just pretend this never happened.”

Laura takes a deep breath. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with my dad, would it?”

J.P. bites his lip and then slowly sighs. “If I let you stay, you won’t tell him, right?”

Laura averts her gaze but nods. “Won’t say a word,” she grumbles.

He lets out a sigh of relief. “Cool, cool, Hollis.” He stands up and offers Laura a hand, but she pushes herself up. “You sure you’re okay?”

“Great.”

He smiles and gestures at where he came from. “I’ll be over there if you need anything.”

 

After he returns to his post, Laura lets out a shaky breath, looking over to see Carmilla frowning at her.

“Sure you’re okay?”

“Mmhmm.” She starts to skate away, but Carmilla gently grabs her by the arm.

“Because… you don’t seem okay,” she continues quietly.

Laura shrugs. “I don’t wanna talk about it.” Carmilla lets her go, but her frown deepens. “…Right now. Maybe later?”

Carmilla nods and they start skating again, silent for a few minutes.

 

Finally, Carmilla nudges her with her shoulder. “Are ya hungry?”

Laura chews her lip.

“Because, y’know, I saw a vending machine back there. It had chocolate, and chocolate with bits of cookies in it, and chocolate with some kind of fudge-like substance––”

“–– _Stop_ ,” Laura giggles. “Rambling’s supposed to be _my_ thing.” Carmilla smirks at her. “I’m not sure I can handle an identity crisis right now.”

Carmilla chuckles softly.

“And yes, I am hungry. But I’m feeling more like drowning my sorrows at the food court right now.”

 

* * *

 

 

Carmilla settles at a table with her cheeseburger, waiting for Laura. When she sees her, she can’t stop the laughter that bubbles up.

Laura pouts as she sits down. “What?”

“Nothing,” Carmilla chuckles, shaking her head.

“ _What?_ ”

“It’s just… that brownie is bigger than your head.”

Laura narrows her eyes at her in a playful glare. “Y’know, I _was_ gonna offer you a bite of this, but now…”

Carmilla pretends to look offended. “Denying me dessert? On our _monthiversary_?”

Laura giggles and pushes the plate into the middle of the table.

 

She takes a few bites in silence as Carmilla chews her burger.

Finally Laura lets out a small sigh. “He didn’t want to keep our secret because of _me_. He wanted to keep it because of who my dad is,” she mumbles, taking another bite of her brownie.

Carmilla raises an eyebrow. “What?”

“J.P.,” Laura clarifies. “It’s just… I thought maybe he was doing _me_ a favor.”

Carmilla frowns at Laura, who averts her eyes.

“N-Never mind. Forget it. It was dumb.”

“Hey,” Carmilla says soothingly, grabbing Laura’s hand. “I get it.” Laura meets her gaze slowly. “People treating you weird because of your parents. Kind of our thing, remember?”

“Yeah.” The edge of Laura’s lips twitches up a bit.   “Thanks for never making me feel that way, Carm.”

Carmilla chuckles and stabs at the dessert between them. “Likewise, cutie.”

Laura beams at her, making Carmilla grin back at her.

“What about we leave after we finish eating and just head back to your place and watch some TV show or something?” Carmilla suggests, taking another bite of the brownie.

Laura nods emphatically and shoves the rest of it into her mouth.

 

They return the skates and Laura politely waves goodbye to J.P. before they head back to the car.

Laura hesitates before getting in the car, glancing around behind her.

“What?” Carmilla asks.

Laura shrugs. “It just felt like…” She sighs. “Never mind. I think my dad’s paranoia is rubbing off on me.”

After they’re settled in, Laura’s phone rings and she answers it.

“Hey, dad. Was just talking about you,” she says with a giggle. “Good things, good things, don’t worry.”

 

They spend the ride chatting about some new county sheriff before Laura hangs up as they pulling up to her house.

“Sorry about that,” Laura says sheepishly. “It was just a conversation we’d normally have over our lunch, so…”

Carmilla smiles and kisses Laura on the cheek. “Don’t worry about it, buttercup.”

“Ready to see what my surprise is?” Laura grins and pulls out the present, pointing to her house. Carmilla nods eagerly and they get out of the car.

 

Once Laura unlocks the door and switches on the light, Carmilla settles on the couch. Laura hands her the bag and Carmilla removes the tissue paper, pulling out a delicately structured model.

“Laura,” Carmilla breathes out.

“I, uh… I made it myself,” Laura mumbles.

Carmilla’s eyes widen. “You _what_?”

“I made it myself?” Laura repeats. She swallows hard and fidgets. “I used to do projects like making nativity sets or just regular arts and crafts like dioramas with my mom. So, I just figured you would like this.”

Carmilla looks at the Ferris wheel replica in her hands and marvels at how intricate it is. The base even includes the area to line up, and there are gondolas marked to differentiate between swinging and stationary ones. She slowly looks up to the top of the Ferris wheel and gasps.

 

“Is… Is that us?”

Laura nods shyly. “From our first date.”

“It’s… It’s so detailed,” Carmilla says. The figures are wearing outfits matching what they wore that night–– Carmilla in a nice black t-shirt and leather pants, Laura in a white top and a navy blue skirt. Laura’s miniature is even clutching the cupcake plush, while Carmilla’s is holding the stuffed star.

Carmilla admires it for a while and Laura finally clears her throat.

“Soooo do you like it?” Laura asks, her voice unsure.

Carmilla stares at her in disbelief. “I love it.”

Laura gives her a small smile.

Carmilla carefully sets the Ferris wheel aside and edges closer to Laura. “Laura… the past month has been the uncontested best month of my life.”

Laura’s smile grows. “It’s been the best month of my life, too.”

 

Carmilla leans forward and captures Laura’s lips in a kiss. Laura kisses her back until her phone buzzes. She pulls back and ignores a call from her father, glancing back up at Carmilla and staring at her for a few seconds.

“What?” Carmilla finally asks with a chuckle.

Laura gives a small shrug, sitting back against the couch and looking down into her hands. “It’s just… do you remember when I invited you to study with me, and you were explaining that essay from Thomas Wolfe?”

“The one about loneliness?” Carmilla asks, leaning back so their shoulders are touching.

Laura nods. “I sorta got what you were saying that night. About how we’re all lonely, so if we were to bond over that loneliness to understand that about each other, then that makes life precious. But I didn’t _really_ get it until we started dating.”

She leans into Carmilla’s side, resting her head on Carmilla’s chest.

“Carm, for the first time since I lost my mom… you make life feel precious.”

“You make life feel precious to me, too, Laura,” Carmilla replies softly. A few seconds go by before she accidentally laughs.

 

“What?” Laura asks, sounding mildly offended.

Carmilla shifts a bit so they can make eye contact. “Y’know, when I said that there is no way you will ever be a bigger sap than me, I didn’t think you’d give me such a run for my money.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next update will be in a couple days! Feel free to leave a comment or swing by and hit me up on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/)  
> Updates are tagged on tumblr as [#Carmilla sheriff AU](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/tagged/carmilla+sheriff+au).  
> It's also up on [Wattpad](https://www.wattpad.com/story/59977203-god's-lonely-man/parts/).


	21. It's Just A Game To You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laura and Carmilla go to an arcade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter includes [this prompt](http://otpprompts.tumblr.com/post/133793565931/imagine-your-otp-playing-wii-sports-and-person-a/):  
>  _Imagine your OTP playing Wii sports and person A accidentally hits person B in the face with the Wii remote. Person B covers their face and starts to cry and person A goes to hug person B and tries to make them feel better. Person B starts laughing and admits that they were fake crying._

“…He’s got this Eastern European accent and he’s probably the oldest county sheriff we’ve ever had,” Charles continues. “And his methods are a bit on the radical side, but he’s effective.”

Laura takes an enormous bite of her burger and mumbles a response.

He laughs. “Ladylike as ever, kiddo.”

Laura pouts at him, her puffed-out cheeks adding to her pitiful look.

“Carmilla Karnstein is a lucky kid,” he teases, laughing harder.

Laura scowls at him and swallows her food. “Low blow, dad. Low blow.”

He grins at her.

“ _Anyway_ what I was trying to say was that maybe he’s exactly what we all need. Someone to fight back the corruption,” Laura says without thinking.

“Corruption?” He quirks an eyebrow.

Laura’s eyes widen and she takes another large bite of her burger. “Speaking of Carm, can you drop me off at her house after this? We’re heading out to the arcade.”

 

He takes a moment, obviously aware that she’s changing the subject, but unsure if he wants to call her out on it. Finally he gives her a small smile. “Whatever you want, Laur.”

She smiles at him and sips from her milkshake.

“She treating you right?” he asks, his previously warmer tone creeping away.

Laura chuckles. “Yes, dad. She’s being a perfectly wonderful girlfriend.”

He settles back in his seat, nodding with satisfaction. “Good.”

Laura takes a bite of her pickle and starts in on her fries.

“Laura?”

“Hmm?”

“You’d better beat her in every video game,” he deadpans. “If there’s one thing I ask for from you in this relationship, it’s that all our hours of hard-work on the Atari and Sega don’t go to waste.”

Laura throws her head back in a laugh. “Okay, dad.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Good… That was g-good, right?” Carmilla asks nervously. “There was only like, minimal glaring this time when he dropped you off?”

Laura giggles and kisses her on the cheek. “That was great.”

Carmilla lets out a sigh of relief.

“Wow, daughter of the Dean, trembling in her fashionable black leather boots, over my father,” Laura teases.

Carmilla narrows her eyes at Laura. “Cupcake. Your father is the chief deputy. And thinks I’m corrupting you.”

Laura shrugs. “In your defense, he would think anyone in your position is corrupting me.”

Carmilla rolls her eyes.

Laura tugs her arm and kisses Carmilla on the shoulder. “But I’m glad it’s you in your position and no one else.”

  

* * *

 

 

Carmilla’s mouth drops open. “What the heck, creampuff? What happened to that sweet talk earlier?”

Laura cackles. “That was to soften you up, Karnstein.” Her video game character lands another critical hit.

“All that stuff about me being in this position was because I was the only _sap_ dumb enough to agree to getting my ass handed to me,” Carmilla grumbles.

The battle ends with Carmilla’s character faceplanting in agony.

 

Laura beams at Carmilla.

“No amount of teeth in your smile is gonna fix the amount of emotional trauma I just suffered,” Carmilla growls.

Laura points at a game across the arcade. “Eeeeeeven if we go to that one over there?”

Carmilla sighs. “Which one?”

Laura tugs at Carmilla’s wrist, but she doesn’t budge.

“Look, it’s like one of those Wii sport games. It’s like tennis, except doubles. We can be on the same team. No competing or fighting against each other.”

Carmilla huffs as Laura gives her a small smile.

“Please?”

 

Carmilla grumbles a reply and lets herself get dragged over before grabbing a controller.

Laura pouts. “Are you really angry at me?”

Carmilla glances over at her, shocked to find that Laura looks like she’s about to burst into tears at any second.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Carmilla says immediately, putting the controller down. She grabs Laura by the shoulders. “I was just teasing, sundance.”

Laura’s lower lip quivers. “You sure? I d-didn’t mean to…” She sniffles and Carmilla kisses her on the cheek.

“Just teasing, okay?”

Laura nods and Carmilla chuckles.

“You can handle getting attacked in an alleyway and getting kidnapped and beaten up, but you can’t handle me teasing you?”

Laura frowns. “I don’t…” She takes a deep breath. “I don’t wanna mess this up. Us.”

 

Carmilla cocks her head to the side, puzzled. “You’re not. You _won’t_.”

She chews her lip. _Does Laura not realize how much in love I am? Maybe I should tell her. Just say it._

_No, Carmilla Karnstein, it doesn’t matter how much of a sap you are, you don’t blurt out that you love someone for the first time in the middle of an arcade when she’s about to cry._

_It’s gotta be done_ right _. It’s gotta_ ––

Laura picks up the game controller and hands Carmilla hers.

 _Another time, then_.

 

Carmilla smiles and takes it as Laura pushes up against her side and gives her a small peck on the shoulder. “Let’s shit some fuck up!”

Carmilla laughs and they two stay next to each other when the game begins.

The first match goes smoothly, with them winning right away. The next match is a bit of a struggle, but they manage to win. Their moves are complementary, with minimal communication required. They jog back and forth in the space around the screen, like one knows what the other wants them to do right away, and is ready to cover them.

 

The third match is the most difficult, with them tied with the computer player.

 

Laura groans as they hit deuce again. “Carm, lob this one up, okay?”

Carmilla nods and does as asked. The computer returns it and Laura starts to run to get it, but Carmilla moves at the same time, swinging her arm up as hard as she can, hitting the tennis ball back at an unexpected angle. The computer users miss and the words “You won!” pop up on screen.

Except, when Carmilla swung her arm upward, it connects with Laura’s face. A loud _smack_ echoes and Laura lets out a pained gasp as her hand flies to her face.

“Shit, shit, _shit_ ,” Carmilla curses, putting down her controller and grabs Laura’s to put down as well.

She gingerly tries to remove Laura’s hand but she lets out a whimper and shakes her head.

“Cutie, I need to see if I broke your nose or something,” Carmilla says softly.

Laura shakes her head again. “Nope, nope, doesn’t feel broken,” she whines nasally.

Carmilla rolls her eyes. “Please?”

Laura sighs and slowly slides her hand down. There’s some blood, but it seems to be coming from a cut on Laura’s lip. Carmilla carefully pokes her nose.

“OW!” Laura shields her nose again. “What the hap is fuckening?” she mutters.

Carmilla laughs. “Your nose is fine.”

“ _Says you_ ,” Laura grumbles. “Probably lied to me about being over the whole ‘me beating you in video games’ thing so you could _retaliate_ by _breaking my poor nose_.”

 

“Come on, let’s get you some air.” Carmilla leads Laura outside of the arcade.

There’s a muffled sob and Carmilla looks over at Laura.

“H-Hey, cupcake,” Carmilla tries. “D-D-Don’t cry?”

Laura removes her hand and lets out another sob. “I’m sorry, it’s just… my dad told me to make sure I beat you in every video game, but I think I went too far, and then I tried to make up for it with us playing _together_ , except that didn’t work out too well either, and now we’re outside instead of inside enjoying playing in an arcade, and you’re standing there looking like you’re about to cry watching me about to cry––”

“Laura, Laura–– Laura! Laura, _hey_!” Carmilla grabs Laura’s flailing, gesticulating arms and holds them to her chest, panicking.

Laura looks up at Carmilla and a grin slowly starts to form.

Carmilla looks confused for a moment before narrowing her eyes at her. “You weren’t really about to cry, were you.”

 

Laura shakes her head.

“You were just teasing me like I was teasing you earlier.”

Laura nods, her grin growing.

“Ya killin’ me, Hollis. You’re––”

“––an odd one, I know,” Laura says, pulling her hands away from Carmilla and leaning in for a kiss.

Carmilla smiles into it and deepens the kiss. It lasts for a few seconds before Laura gasps and pulls away.

“Although, as much as I wanted to make a hilariously entertaining reason for us to leave that arcade, my lip does actually hurt.”

Carmilla frowns. “I am sorry.”

Laura giggles. “I know, silly.” She glances around them for a moment, her eyebrows furrowing together.

“What?”

Laura shrugs. “I just… It felt like there was someone…” She shakes her head. “Never mind.”

 

“Well, where did you want to go now, Hollis?” Carmilla sighs, wrapping an arm around her.

Laura snuggles into her side. “I have a hankerin’ for some ice cream,” she says dramatically.

Carmilla gives her a perplexed look and chuckles. “Y’know, a _normal_ person would’ve just said, ‘Carmilla, I would like to leave the arcade and have some ice cream.’”

Laura shrugs. “But where’s the fun in that?”

“You’re gonna be the death of me,” Carmilla groans, kissing Laura on the cheek.

Laura bats her eyelashes at her innocently.

“But it wouldn’t be a bad way to go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Next update will be in a couple days! Feel free to leave a comment or swing by and hit me up on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/)  
> Updates are tagged on tumblr as [#Carmilla sheriff AU](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/tagged/carmilla+sheriff+au).  
> It's also up on [Wattpad](https://www.wattpad.com/story/59977203-god's-lonely-man/parts/).


	22. Fix My Pout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laura is studying for finals and needs help. Carmilla is working on assembling furniture and needs help. Misery loves company, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The best part of editing is re-reading this stuff and wondering what I was smoking when I wrote some of the dialogue hahaha  
> I'm also currently snowed into my apartment underground by this dang blizzard  
> Enjoy and stay awesome!

Carmilla’s phone rings as she puts down the instruction booklet. She smiles when she sees the caller ID and answers it. “And to what I do I owe this pleas––”

“––Carm, I am dying,” Laura groans weakly.

Carmilla’s eyes widen. She had just seen her mother the day before and there had been no indication that there was any unhappiness on her end. The Dean was still blissfully unaware that the sheriff had given Laura and Carmilla his tentative blessing, but seemed satisfied with Mattie’s report from their lunch. It had been smooth sailing for weeks. Surely nothing could’ve changed that, right?

Laura, realizing how her greeting came out, stammered. “I don’t mean _dying_ -dying. I mean, _stuDYING_.”

Carmilla lets out a sigh of relief. “Don’t scare me like that, creampuff.”

Laura giggles on the other end. “Sorry, Carm.”

 

Carmilla flops down on her couch. “So what are you studying?”

“Philosophy. Although, right now, it’s more like ‘philo-stupid.’”

“ _Hey_ ,” Carmilla snaps jokingly.

“Sorry again,” Laura says, not sounding the least bit apologetic.

“I’m more offended by that bad pun than anything else.”

Laura lets out a yawn. “Mmm, I must be spending too much time with my dad. His bad puns are rubbing off on me.”

Carmilla sighs. “So that’s why you’re not here with me right now? Philosophy? Why didn’t you just ask me for help? We are in the same class, y’know.”

Laura huffs. “I was _trying_ to be an independent woman and study for this final by myself.”

 

Carmilla pouts and she’s pretty sure it’s audible over the phone. “But that means you’re… not _here_.”

“Carm, we can’t both be pouting. Our lower lips would take up so much space that there wouldn’t be enough room for us in this relationship.”

“Then fix my pout,” Carmilla says.

Laura groans. “Fine. I’ll be right over.”

 

* * *

 

 

There’s a knock at Carmilla’s door a little while later and she goes to answer it. A disheveled Laura is standing there, clutching a pile of books and her laptop. “Help,” she whines.

Carmilla chuckles and pulls Laura in, taking some books from her. “Okay, but only if you help me, too.”

Laura nods immediately and Carmilla can’t help it, so she leans forward and kisses her. It’s a short but sweet one.

“Uh, what was that for?”

Carmilla blinks. “F-For… uhm… For being cute.”

Laura giggles and walks over to a messy pile in Carmilla’s living room. “Is this what you need help with?”

Carmilla nods. “I propose you help me build this drawer thingy from Ikea, and I’ll try to water down some philosophical concepts for you. Deal?”

Laura sticks out her hand and Carmilla laughs before shaking it. “You got yourself a deal, Karnstein.”

 

* * *

 

 

Carmilla throws a bit across the room, growling in frustration. Laura frowns and crawls after it, rooting around under a table.

“Just _forget it_ , cupcake!” Carmilla huffs. “I’m just gonna take this out to the front lawn and set it on fire and call it a day.”

Laura sighs, still searching for the piece. “Look, I’m pretty sure that you just threw part 117016, so…”

“No, part 117016 is over here,” Carmilla groans. “That was part 116903.”

Laura shakes her head. “I used part 116903 already.”

Carmilla drops onto the couch dramatically. “Whatever! Just forget about part 117116167!”

“No, you asked me to help you build this dang thing, we’re gonna––” Laura tries to get up but bangs her head on the underside of the table. “OW!” She whimpers and crumples back onto the floor, holding her head.

 

“God damn it,” Carmilla snarls, running off to get a pack of ice.

Laura is still lying on her stomach, massaging her head. Carmilla kneels next to her and carefully pulls her away from the table.

“Are you okay?” she asks softly.

Laura bites her lip and nods. Carmilla gently holds the ice pack against Laura’s head and scowls. “If you die from a concussion under my table, your dad will kill me.”

Laura grins at her. “At least then I wouldn’t have to take my final?”

Carmilla chuckles dryly. “How hard did you bump your head, cutie?”

Laura shrugs with a smirk. “You’re gonna insinuate head trauma _after_ those incidents with Will and your mother? A little late, dontcha think?”

 

Carmilla shakes her head, a grin spreading across her face. “You silly little…” She leans in for a kiss and Laura starts to lean in, too. Laura suddenly stops and lets out an excited gasp.

“Found it!” She moves away from Carmilla and crawls to the side, returning with the piece that had been thrown across the room. “Let’s do this!”

Carmilla sighs and watches as Laura enthusiastically returns to the jumbled pile, grabbing the instruction booklet. The grin remains.

 

* * *

 

 

Laura squints, looking around the room. “I think there’s a piece missing.”

Carmilla frowns. “You sure?”

“Unless you threw another piece under the table when I wasn’t looking,” Laura teases with a wink.

Carmilla gives her some mocking laughter and crosses her arms grumpily.

Laura grins at her. “Anyway, it’s like a small rod-like thing. I think.”

“ _Fantastic_ ,” Carmilla says sardonically.

Laura rises from her spot on the floor, kissing the top of Carmilla’s head. She wanders into Carmilla’s bedroom. There’s some shuffling noises before Laura returns with a proud look on her face.

 

Carmilla looks at her expectantly.

“You, Carmilla Karnstein, have the best girlfriend ever.”

Carmilla scoffs. “Well, _duh_ , I knew that already.” She smiles at Laura.

Laura giggles and produces a hairpin. “I think we can just use this?”

Carmilla shrugs and Laura walks over to the drawer unit.

“Turn around for a couple minutes?” she asks sweetly. Carmilla does as asked.

 

After a few moments, Laura lets out an excited squeal. “Turn around!”

Carmilla spins and her mouth drops open. The drawers had been mostly assembled, and Laura had placed them into the unit perfectly.

“Ta-da!” Laura exclaims gleefully.

“Holy crap,” Carmilla exhales. “It looks amazing.”

Laura beams at her proudly as Carmilla wanders over to admire it.

A few seconds pass before Laura nudges Carmilla. “Well, now that you’re the proud new owner of this Ikea drawer unit, where would you like it?”

Carmilla kisses Laura on the cheek and rests her head on Laura’s shoulder. “You’re the one who answers that question, hon.”

 

“Huh?” Laura pulls away from Carmilla to look into her eyes. “What do you mean?”

Carmilla takes a deep breath. _Out with it, Karnstein_. “This drawer thing is for you.”

Laura blinks at her, still not understanding.

“I’m… Well, I’m not asking you to m-move in,” Carmilla stammers. “But you’re here so often that I figured it’d be nice for you to have a thing of your own to keep some stuff. I-If you want.” Carmilla shrugs. “It’s cool if you don’t. I’m not gonna complain about having extra storage space. But you did most of the work, not getting irritated with the dumb instructions, and I kinda only threw stuff around and grumbled a lot. And it’s j-ju-just, ah, I was hoping… It’d be nice if you… used the… space…”

Laura giggles and kisses Carmilla on the lips for a couple seconds. “First you take away my pouting rights in this relationship, and now you’re infringing on my hard-earned rambling territory,” she laughs.

Carmilla blushes and smiles shyly.

“Yes, Carmilla Karnstein, I would love to _store stuff in your apartment_.”

 

Carmilla’s smile grows. “Really?”

Laura nods, giving her another peck on the lips.

Carmilla grins so hard she’s afraid her face might split in half, and then Laura laughs again, and Carmilla’s sure her face is a goner. “What?”

“I’m just super happy this drawer thing is mine. I was slightly annoyed I spent more effort on it than you did,” Laura admits.

Carmilla mocks offense. “Do you know how _tough_ it was standing around being grumpy? It takes a lot of energy, you know.”

Laura throws her head back, laughing. “Oh, poor you.”

Carmilla chuckles and finally lets Laura go.

Laura bites her lip. “So. About studying for that final…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next update will be in a couple days! Feel free to leave a comment or swing by and hit me up on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/)  
> Updates are tagged on tumblr as [#Carmilla sheriff AU](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/tagged/carmilla+sheriff+au).  
> It's also up on [Wattpad](https://www.wattpad.com/story/59977203-god's-lonely-man/parts/).


	23. Somebody's Watching Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmilla accidentally lets something slip to Laura. They find out who's been watching them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I feel like I should've warned you guys with the last chapter that it was the last fluffy one, but I didn't want that to make y'all feel anxious for this one.  
> But, uhm... that was the last fluffy chapter :P  
> Hee hee. Enjoy!

“You sure you don’t want to spend Christmas with us?” Laura asks, snuggled up against Carmilla’s side on the couch.

Carmilla chuckles. “Hmm, spend the holiday with your father and countless other cops at the station?” She kisses the top of Laura’s head. “No, thank you.”

Laura pouts. “But I’ll be there.”

“Laura, I love you, but there’s no way that––” Carmilla and Laura’s eyes widen at the same time when they realize what she’s said. Carmilla’s voice goes up an octave. “Uhm…”

Laura opens and closes her mouth a few times before a small squeak comes out. “Y-You love me?”

“Uhm…” Carmilla repeats, panicking.

Laura doesn’t pull away, but she stares at Carmilla, her eyes growing wider and wider. “Carm?”

“Y-Ye-Yes?” Carmilla clears her throat. “Yes.”

“So… you’ve known you love me… For how long?”

“A while,” Carmilla replies, trying to read Laura’s expression and failing.

Laura furrows her eyebrows together. “How long is ‘a while?’”

“Since the trespassing incident.”

 

Laura’s mouth drops open. “But that was–– that was months ago! We’d just started dating!”

“I know, but you had just stood up for me to the cops and then protected me again, and I just–– I just…”

Laura pulls away gently, looking like she’s about to pass out.

Carmilla swallows hard. “Look, forget I said anything, alright? We’ll just… forget it.”

Laura shakes her head, hyperventilating. “No, I… I don’t want to forget it. I… I don’t… I can’t…”

Carmilla places a hand on Laura’s to try to calm her down. “Cupcake, it’s fine if you don’t feel the same way, okay? I know I’m not a good person, so loving me is…” Her voice cracks at the end and she sniffles.

“It’s definitely not that,” Laura says immediately. She stands up, almost stumbling over the table on her way out. “I’m sorry, I-I…”

Carmilla starts to stand up but doesn’t take a step towards her. “Laura…”

“I’m–– I need to go,” Laura blurts out, opening the door and basically sprinting from the house into the night.

 

Carmilla stands in her spot, dumbstruck for a few moments before her brain kicks back in. She shakes her head and starts to run out the door after Laura, but as soon as she makes it to the doorway, a large man is blocking it.

“Can I help you?” she demands.

“Carmilla Karnstein?” he asks gruffly.

Carmilla stares at him, trying to gauge what her next course of action should be. He apparently accepts her silence as confirmation, and he grabs a cloth out of his pocket, covering her nose and mouth with it. Carmilla’s eyes widen as her head starts to go fuzzy.

 

“Leave her alone!” a voice yells from behind them, and the man’s legs are swept out from under him.

 _Laura_? Carmilla thinks hazily.

“Carm! Carm, hey, stay with me,” Laura says urgently, catching Carmilla as her knees are going out and holding her upright.

“Laura? What are you doing here…?” Carmilla asks, her voice sounding far away.

“Shh, later,” Laura rushes, pushing them back into Carmilla’s home and closing the door behind her. She locks the door and supports Carmilla back to the couch before running over to barricade the door, pulling out her phone.

Laura cradles her phone with her shoulder and is pushing the drawer unit in front of the door.

“Come on, come _on_ , dad! Pick up!” It goes to voice mail and Laura lets out a frustrated yell.

 

There’s a groan on the other side of the door and Laura jumps, her phone dropping on the ground.

Carmilla tries to stand up but her head spins and she winds up flopping backwards.

They hear footsteps go away from the front door and Laura slowly goes to peer out the window, peeking through the curtains.

“Is he still there?” Carmilla asks weakly.

Laura shakes her head. “I don’t see him––”

She lets out a shriek and ducks as a rock flies through the window, shattering glass all over her. An arm reaches through and wraps around Laura’s neck.

She gasps for air and claws at the arm, before finally getting enough of a handle on it and scratching him deeply.

The arm withdraws through the window as Carmilla rushes over and pulls Laura away back towards the couch and the footsteps leave again.

 

Laura is gasping for air and tries speaking, but her voice comes out raspy. “Is there another way out of here?”

Carmilla nods and points with her thumb. “Back door.” She stands wobbly and pulls Laura up, trying to lead them to the back. Laura grabs her phone before they leave, fiddling with it as she follows Carmilla.

There’s a creak in front of them and they both stop dead in their tracks.

“Something’s fucky,” Laura whispers, pocketing her phone again.

The man bursts out of the back room and charges at them. Carmilla pushes Laura out of the way and is tackled to the ground. He’s on top of her and produces the cloth again, stuffing it against her face.

 

Laura grabs one of Carmilla’s hard-covered books off a shelf and slams it against his head. He growls and whirls around. Laura glances around him and sees that Carmilla is unconscious.

Before she has a chance to figure out her next move, he grabs her by the head and throws it against the wall.

Blackness overtakes her vision and Laura crumples to the ground next to Carmilla.

 

* * *

 

 

Laura groans when she opens her eyes, lifting her head up slowly.

“Oh, thank God,” Carmilla breathes out nearby. Both of them are restrained with their arms tied behind them by rope, held in place by curved poles that connect the ground to the wall. They’re in a small basement that looks soundproofed and insulated, with a door across the room and no windows.

Laura’s head snaps to look over at her, but it’s too quickly and she winces.

“Careful, cupcake,” Carmilla warns softly.

Laura closes her eyes and prays for the thudding in her head to go away, but when it doesn’t, she cautiously opens them again and looks at Carmilla. “Are you okay?”

Carmilla nods. “Still a little out of it, but I think it’s wearing off.” She frowns at Laura. “How about you?”

“I feel like my head got smashed in by Kirsch’s pick-up truck and then flattened by Perry’s rolling pin,” Laura moans.

“I think you might have a concussion,” Carmilla frets.

“You mean, those cartoon birdies I see flying around my head right now aren’t real?” Laura asks, managing a grin.

 

Carmilla scoffs and then chuckles.

Laura shifts a bit to lean her head back and dull the pain a bit. “That guy doesn’t work for your mom, does he?”

Carmilla shakes her head. “No. I’ve never seen him before.”

“I have.”

Carmilla cranes her neck to give Laura a perplexed look. “You have?”

“When we went ice skating, remember there was that car following us?” Carmilla nods. “And then when we left the arcade, I felt like we were being watched.”

Carmilla hums in response.

“That guy was outside the arcade,” Laura continues. “And I recognized the car after I… After I left your place. So I doubled back to make sure you were okay.”

Carmilla gives her a small smile.

There’s a small awkward silence and Carmilla clears her throat. “Look, about what happened earlier––”

 

The door swings open and they both jump. A large Eastern European woman struts in, followed by several men, including the one who attacked the earlier.

“Welcome,” she says, heavily accented. “I am Mama Klaus, and you are my guests.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next update will (hopefully!) be tomorrow! (Classes just started for me again today so I don't want to promise anything but I also don't like keeping people waiting after a cliffhanger.)  
> Feel free to leave a comment or swing by and hit me up on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/)  
> Updates are tagged on tumblr as [#Carmilla sheriff AU](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/tagged/carmilla+sheriff+au).  
> It's also up on [Wattpad](https://www.wattpad.com/story/59977203-god's-lonely-man/parts/).


	24. A Shot In The Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmilla and Laura try to survive Mama Klaus's intentions, while Laura explains her reaction to Carmilla's admission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun / not-so-fun fact: Originally this fic had zero plans for fluff and it was basically just them meeting, Laura getting beat up, and then some stalling until this point. But it was a super bummer to write and once I started writing the fluff, this part of the fic felt more genuine.  
> And for anyone who's read my long fics before-- this is the part where I tell y'all to _breathe_ <3  
> No, seriously. Just remember to keep breathing while reading this one lmao
> 
> Also... I'm sorry. For everything.

“Who?” Laura asks. She looks over at Carmilla, whose eyes are wide.

“Ah, well, I had a feeling you wouldn’t know me, sweetheart,” Mama Klaus replies, her Austrian accent strong. “After all, I didn’t know who you were until my son brought you to me. The sheriff’s daughter, my, my.” She clicks her tongue. “But _you_ ,” she says, directing her attention at Carmilla. “ _You_ know exactly who I am.”

Carmilla nods slowly, swallowing hard. “You’re the one behind the mass murder in a bakery in the city a few years ago. Among other things.”

Mama Klaus cackles and grins deviously. “And now I’m looking to expand my enterprise.”

“I’m sure this has nothing to do with the fact that my mother’s moved her activities from the city to this area,” Carmilla remarks dryly.

Mama Klaus narrows her eyes and nods at one of the other men, who come over and, without warning, backhands Carmilla hard enough for her head to snap to the side.

Laura lets out a gasp and then growls.

“Like a little puppy, this one,” Mama Klaus comments with a laugh. She locks eyes with Carmilla, who gives her a defiant glare. “And this one… like a large, strong cat.” She taps her son on the shoulder and points at Carmilla. “Let’s see how long it takes her to turn into a kitten, yes?”

 

He walks over and punches Carmilla in the gut. Carmilla lets out a wheezing cough.

“What the heck do you want?” Laura demands, tugging at the rope around her wrists.

“Your mother’s operations,” Mama Klaus says, walking over to Carmilla. “Tell me what you know about it. Distributors, contacts, moles in law enforcement, the works. Any little detail will help.”

Carmilla huffs and spits in her face. One of the men walks over and punches Carmilla right in the face, and she groans as a stream of blood flows down her face from her nose.

Laura continues struggling. “Leave her alone!”

The son not hitting Carmilla walks over to Laura and produces a gag from his back pocket, putting it on Laura. She narrows her eyes at him and starts on a muffled tirade.

The other man hits Carmilla again and again and Laura stops talking, turning to growl at him while still pulling at her restraints.

Laura’s eyes start to well up as Carmilla lets out pained grunts from additional hits and she realizes there’s _nothing_ _she can do_.

 

* * *

 

Carmilla blacked out for a bit but gradually regains consciousness. Her eyes focus on Laura, whose face is streaked with tears. “Laura?” she calls weakly.

Laura whips her head to the side to look at Carmilla, breathing a sigh of relief. “You’re awake.”

Carmilla nods slowly. “They didn’t hurt you after I passed out, did they?”

Laura shakes her head. “I’ve just been trying to stay conscious. Pretty sure you’re not supposed to nod off with a concussion.”

Carmilla sighs.

“How are you feeling?” Laura asks.

“Like I got hit by Kirsch’s pick-up truck and then flattened by Perry’s rolling pin,” Carmilla mocks playfully.

Laura chuckles softly.

 

A few seconds pass before Laura sighs. “Carm?”

“Yeah?”

Laura stares at the ground for a bit and then slowly meets Carmilla’s gaze. “About, uhm, last night…”

Carmilla gives her a small smile. “We don’t have to talk about this.”

“I think we should,” Laura says sincerely. “Because… it’s not that I don’t love you.” She takes a deep breath. “It’s just…”

Laura struggles to come up with words for a moment and Carmilla waits patiently.

“…Have you ever noticed that sometimes my dad and I will just say, ‘you know’ to each other?”

Carmilla nods.

“It’s… because…” Laura slumps a bit in her spot. “When those guys killed my mom, there was a video… Just to really rub it in my dad’s face. And her last words in it were, ‘I love you.’” Laura’s voice cracks and she lets out a small sniffle. “After that my dad and I couldn’t quite bring ourselves to say it to each other. I think we always assumed we’d be okay to do it one day, but then years went on, and we just kept avoiding saying it.”

 

“Oh, Laura,” Carmilla says gently.

Laura clears her throat. “So when we say ‘you know,’ that’s what we mean. And it’d been so long since I said ‘I love you,’ I just sorta… forgot how to? Then you said it and–– I tried, Carm. I _really_ did.”

Carmilla can feel her heart breaking. “Laura, you don’t have to say it back. I just… I was afraid you didn’t think I was worthy of loving. I’m not exactly easy to love, given our differences…”

Laura pouts at Carmilla. “Carmilla Karnstein, you’re more than worthy of loving. And I think if you stopped being all dark and broody, you’d realize we’re not so different.”

Carmilla scowls at her. “I’m not broody,” she grumbles.

“The broodiest brooder to ever brood,” Laura teases lightly.

 

The door opens again, and it’s Mama Klaus with the same posse. They’d clearly been listening from the other side of the door. “See, why didn’t I think of this before we wasted all that time beating up Karnstein?”

Laura stares at her, confused.

“Clearly, you care about Laura Hollis. We gathered that much from following you. So, it stands to reason that if we can’t get you to speak by using bodily harm on _you_ …”

Laura and Carmilla’s eyes widen and Carmilla shakes her head. “No!”

“Information on your mother’s distributors, and contacts.”

Carmilla hesitates and that’s all the time she gets before one of the men whips out a nightstick, walks over, and whacks Laura across the face with it. She lets out a yelp and blinks back tears.

Now Carmilla struggles against her restraints. “Leave her alone!”

“Then give us some information!”

Carmilla clenches her jaw. “I––”

There’s another blow to Laura’s ribs. Laura sucks in a breath and seems like she’s trying to resist screaming out in pain again. Another blow comes and Laura groans, teeth clenched.

“I’ll tell you, okay? Just leave Laura alone!”

 

Before anyone can say anything farther, there’s a sudden commotion outside and Mama Klaus looks startled.

“Go out there and find out what that is!” she barks at the men.

“Should one of us stay here with you?” one asks.

She shakes her head and they immediately run out the door.

“You know, I originally sent one of my crooked cops to kill you,” she says to Carmilla. “Well, technically, he was on your mother’s payroll. I just incentivized him with a bonus. But then you killed him and I thought about sending one of my sons to do it. But I decided to just use you for information. However, if you’re more trouble than you’re worth…” Mama Klaus produces a gun from her back pocket.

“What about Samuel David Ellis?” Laura wheezes out, trying to distract her, still wriggling in her ropes.

She laughs. “Ah, yes. He was supposed to scout out family members of local law enforcement. I guess when _someone_ found out about him, he wound up dead the same night.” She clicks her tongue. “The two of you are quite dangerous. And I needed to stir things up to make sure nothing could get traced back to me, so I planted some breadcrumbs to make sure it was obvious you were the ones that killed them.”

“That’s how Will found out,” Laura realizes.

Mama Klaus shrugs. “Whatever you say, child. All I know is, you two did me a favor burying them together and then covering up the murders.”

 

One of the men runs into the room. “It’s the sheriff department!” he yells.

Mama Klaus curses under her breath. “Go back out there and stall them.” He quickly nods and leaves.

She aims her gun at Carmilla. Carmilla and Laura lock eyes, and Laura shakes her head, silently pleading with whatever God was out there to not let her lose someone else.

“Definitely not worth the trouble,” Mama Klaus sneers. She pulls the trigger and the gunshot rings through the room.

 

Carmilla braces herself for the pain, but it never comes. She doesn’t realize she’s clamped her eyes closed, so she opens them and screams in horror.

Laura had managed to finally cut her ropes with the nail on the wall she’d been struggling with and jumped in front of Carmilla. The gunshot wound is already bleeding through her shirt.

“ _LAURA!_ ”

Laura groans but stays upright as she quickly grabs Mama Klaus by the wrist. She gives it a twist, and there’s a _crack_ , followed by the large woman yelling out in pain as the weapon falls from her hand. Laura quickly delivers a blow to her chest, knocking her back. She bends down and picks up the gun.

Mama Klaus lunges forward without thinking, murder in her eyes.

Laura reacts instinctively, pulling the trigger. She shoots Mama Klaus right between the eyes. The woman crumples to the floor with a sickening thud.

 

Laura drops the gun, shocked for a moment. Carmilla shifts behind her, mouth agape, and Laura quickly snaps out of her daze. Her hand flies to her wound as she bends down next to the body. She checks a couple pockets with the other hand before she produces a small knife.

Laura slowly heads towards Carmilla and slumps against the pipe. “Don’t move your hands,” she says, her breathing labored. She slowly manages to cut through the rope and Carmilla’s freed.

Laura lets out a grunt as she slumps forward, and Carmilla catches her, slowly kneeling and bringing Laura down to rest in her lap. Carmilla cradles her so that her head is resting on her thighs and she tries to put pressure on Laura’s wound.

“Shit, shit, there’s too much blood,” Carmilla whimpers.

There’s gunfire outside, but Carmilla blocks it out, staring into Laura’s face.

Laura’s breathing is more pained and labored, but she manages a smile. “Am I a badass yet?”

Carmilla lets out a dry chuckle, sniffling. “Yes, Laura, you’re a badass.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I'm sorry  
> (Also if you go back to the point where Laura's father finds out about them dating, I've been having Laura slip in some _you know_ 's to him in lieu of "I love you")
> 
> The next update should be up tomorrow!  
> Feel free to leave a comment or swing by and hit me up on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/)  
> Updates are tagged on tumblr as [#Carmilla sheriff AU](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/tagged/carmilla+sheriff+au).  
> It's also up on [Wattpad](https://www.wattpad.com/story/59977203-god's-lonely-man/parts/).


	25. Deathbed Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The race is on for the chief & co. to find the girls. Laura admits her true feelings to Carmilla.

Danny groans when her phone rings. “Hello?” she greets, her voice laced with sleep.

“Danny, have you seen or heard from Laura?” Laura’s father asks.

“Uh, not since yesterday, sir.” She glances at the clock and it’s barely dawn. “Why?”

He sighs. “Well, I know she was spending Christmas Eve with Carmilla, but then she said she would come straight to the station early this morning. She’s two hours late.”

“Laura’s never late,” Danny remarks, suppressing a yawn. “Have you checked with Carmilla?”

There’s some rustling. “I’ve been calling both of them. Neither has answered. It just goes straight to voicemail.”

“Maybe they fell asleep?”

Charles sighs again. “Maybe.”

“You’re not convinced.” Danny laughs. “Would you like me to go check Carmilla’s house?”

“I, uh… think that’d go over better, yeah.” He clears his throat. “But I’ll meet you there. Just in case.”

 

* * *

 

They pull up at the same time. Danny starts to dart into the front door as soon as she sees the broken window, but Charles holds her back. “Stay here,” he whispers. He disappears to the back of the house. A few minutes pass as Danny tries her best to do as she was told, before Charles reappears and waves her over.

“I’ve called it in already,” he says, his voice wavering.

Danny’s eyes widen. The last time she heard him like this, they had just seen Laura’s mother get killed on video. “Called what in?”

They enter the house from the back and Danny lets out a gasp. There has obviously been a struggle. A book lies on the ground, dented. There’s a bloody mark on the wall. Furniture has been pushed up against the front door.

Charles points at two broken phones on the ground and swallows hard. “Shit.”

 

* * *

 

“Calm down, Hollis,” Vordenberg, the county sheriff, says. “We will find your daughter. Even if I have to tear apart every home to do it.”

Charles sighs and runs his hand through his hair. “Who could’ve even done it?” he wonders out loud.

The elderly man sits down, looking pensive. “You said she was with Carmilla Karnstein, the daughter of Lilita Morgan? How do we know she’s not involved?”

There are a group of rapid footsteps as the Dean strolls into Chief Hollis’s office as if it were her own. “I’m not,” she says coldly. “I wouldn’t kidnap my own daughter. Not really my style.”

Vordenberg and Charles share a look.

A couple of embarrassed officers trail in after her. “We tried to stop her, sir.”

“How did you know about this?” Charles demands.

“I have my ways,” she answers vaguely.

 

“What are you doing here?” he asks.

She shrugs, trying to look nonchalant, but her eyes give away her worry. “They took my daughter. They took your daughter. What better way to find them than to combine two concerned parents with fingers in different pies?”

 

Vordenberg looks undeterred. “Well, if it wasn’t you, then there is another candidate.” He looks at the Dean. “Mama Klaus.”

 

She stiffens for a moment before her lips press into a thin line. “She would. Probably trying to get information out of my daughter.”

Charles slams the desk. “I knew Laura dating Carmilla would lead to nothing good!”

“Oh, please, have some dignity,” Lilita scoffs. “I’m sure you’ve seen them together. They make each other so happy, it’s sickening. If your little girl was also taken by Mama Klaus, it was probably for trying to protect my daughter–– all of her own accord.”

Charles stares at her, fuming, but doesn’t say anything further.

 

Lilita chuckles humorlessly. “And honestly, I’m surprised. A chief deputy’s daughter with your history, running around without a tracking device?”

“Laura has one in her phone,” he says miserably. “But they broke her phone.”

“They broke her phone… _and_ the tracking device?” Vordenberg asks. “As in, you checked?”

The three of them stare at each other.

Charles runs out of the room to the desk of the head of technological communications.

“I swear,” Lilita sighs, taking a seat beside Vordenberg. “How do any of you men get anything done around here?”

 

* * *

 

“Holy assholes, this hurts.” Laura gasps weakly as Carmilla tries and fails to keep tears from falling.

She’s still putting pressure on the wound, but the blood is still flowing out too fast.

“See? Told you. Broody,” Laura murmurs.

“I’m _not_ broody,” Carmilla insists, sniffling.

Laura groans and pales a bit. “Y’know, those cops are totally gonna rescue us.”

“Assuming they get by that crazy dressed-in-all-brown army Mama Klaus sent out there,” Carmilla points out, furrowing her eyebrows together.

Laura giggles. “They look like gingerbread men.”

Carmilla chuckles softly. “I wonder how they knew where we are.”

“Oh, ye of little faith,” Laura says. She reaches into her front pocket and slowly produces a small chip. “I dug this out of my phone before we got knocked out. Dad put a tracking device in my phone and it probably led them here.”

 

Carmilla’s eyes widen in surprise. “Laura Hollis, you’re––”

“––Odd, I know.”

“No,” Carmilla says, shaking her head. “I was gonna say that you’re amazing.”

Laura smiles at her and turns her head to press a kiss against the arm cradling her head.

They stay like this for a few seconds, with Carmilla trying to ignore the labored breaths coming from Laura.

“Carm?” Laura whispers weakly.

“Yeah?” Carmilla’s voice cracks and she curses herself for crying instead of staying strong for Laura.

 

Laura looks into Carmilla’s eyes and swallows hard. “I love you,” she says strongly.

Carmilla blinks at her in shock.

“No.”

Laura pouts. “Did you just ‘no’ my ‘I love you?’”

Carmilla nods. “No. You’re being stupid and you don’t get to give me a deathbed declaration of love.”

Laura giggles, but her eyelids are drooping.

Carmilla scoffs. “What is so funny?” she asks softly.

“Sheriff boots sound different from gingerbread men boots,” Laura murmurs before her eyes close altogether.

Carmilla shakes Laura. “Hey, cupcake?” She lets out a sob. “Laura?”

 

* * *

 

Carmilla feels like she’s stuck in a dreamy haze, watching as the sheriff department and even some of her mother’s men come barging in behind her. There’s a lot of yelling, and Laura’s father is suddenly before her, worry in his eyes. He’s asking Carmilla something, but she feels so numb that her brain has just shut down.

Laura’s completely unresponsive, totally limp.

Her father is crying now, yelling commands, and someone picks Laura up from Carmilla’s lap and rushes her out the door. Carmilla stays kneeled before she feels herself lifted off the ground.

 

She vaguely recalls being treated for her own injuries in an ambulance taking her to the hospital and that Laura was transported in a separate vehicle, but as words are being said to her, she absorbs none of them.

 

* * *

 

“‘Sheriff boots sound different from gingerbread men boots,’” Carmilla says monotonously.

The room seems all too small as they look down at Laura’s still form. Carmilla had tried placing a hand on Laura’s arm before, but it felt too cold and she quickly withdrew it.

Charles sniffles. “What?”

“That’s what Laura said before she–– … She knew you guys were down the hall from us and almost there.”

 

“Took you long enough,” a small, weak whisper comes from the hospital bed between them.

Carmilla and Charles glance down and see a beaten and weakened–– but very much _alive_ –– Laura, who’s slowly waking up.

Perry jumps up to action. “I’ll get my mother and LaF’s mother. Thank goodness you’re awake, Laura.”

LaF stands up, as well. “And I’ll go get Danny and Kirsch from the vending machines. Glad you’re not dead, Hollis.”

After they leave, Laura groans. “What happened?”

“You’ve got a few broken ribs and a concussion, on top of a nasty gunshot wound, kiddo,” Charles replies softly. “Plus some old wounds that are definitely _not_ indicative of a bookcase falling on you,” he adds pointedly.

Laura gives him a sheepish grin. “Oops?”

“Yeah, yeah,” he says, teasingly dismissive. “One day you’re gonna have to tell me the truth about everything. Including murdering Samuel Ellis.”

Laura’s eyes widen.

“ _Self-defense_ ,” he says, slowly and deliberately. “For both of you, yeah?”

Laura and Carmilla nod in unison.

 

* * *

 

After LaFontaine’s mother checks on Laura and seems satisfied that all she needs is rest and monitoring, Laura starts to doze off from the pain meds. By the time she reawakens, it’s only a napping Carmilla left in the room. She looks around the room and sees a mountain of chocolate, with a card saying, “ _Stay sweet and get well soon! Love, Danny, LaFontaine, Kirsch, and Perry._ ”

There’s a new phone on her nightstand, with a note next to it reading, “ _That super reliable tracking device is already installed in this new baby. Love you, kiddo._ ”

Laura lets out a chuckle, but a pain shoots through her side and she winces.

 

Carmilla jumps in the chair next to her, eyes wide.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you up,” Laura apologizes.

“No, no, it’s fine,” Carmilla says, moving to sit by Laura’s side, careful not to touch her. “How are you feeling?”

“Insert statement about pickup truck and rolling pin here,” Laura teases. “You?”

Carmilla chuckles. “Pretty much the same. Minus the gunshot wound.”

A tear involuntarily falls from Carmilla’s face and Laura pouts.

“I can’t believe you jumped in front of a gun and took a bullet for me,” Carmilla says, her voice shaking.

“Hey,” Laura says gently, poking Carmilla arm. “Of course I did.”

Carmilla raises an eyebrow at her.

“We buried bodies together and then naturally started dating. Nothing can break that kind of love. Not even a bullet from a super huge angry mob woman.”

Carmilla lets out a watery laugh. “Love?”

Laura nods.

“That wasn’t just a deathbed confession?”

“Oh, Carm.” Laura giggles. “I heard the sheriff department’s footsteps, remember? I knew we were being rescued in time. When I said it, I meant it, knowing I’d survive to deal with the consequences.” She smiles up at Carmilla. “I. Love. You.”

 

Carmilla grins, tears in her eyes for an entirely different reason now. “I love you, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, as always <3  
> The next update should be in a couple days!  
> Feel free to leave a comment or swing by and hit me up on [tumblr](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/)  
> Updates are tagged on tumblr as [#Carmilla sheriff AU](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/tagged/carmilla+sheriff+au).  
> It's also up on [Wattpad](https://www.wattpad.com/story/59977203-god's-lonely-man/parts/).


	26. Precious and Fragile Things Need Special Handling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laura and Carmilla spend New Year's Eve together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from Depeche Mode's "Precious."  
> Welp, here's the last chapter, guys! You survived all of the angst, so enjoy :)

“Laura, Laura, take it easy!” Carmilla shouts, trailing after the little ball of energy going at full speed in front of her. She barely had time to turn off the engine before Laura was several feet in front of her, running from the car.

Laura giggles as she spins around and waits for Carmilla to catch up before grabbing her by the hand, essentially dragging her forward. “Come on, Carm! We’re gonna miss it!”

Carmilla stumbles a bit but catches her footing. “Miss _what?_ ” she huffs. “Miss New Years? That’s still like an hour away!”

Laura yanks at Carmilla to go faster, but Carmilla completely trips over her own feet this time and flies forward, crashing right into Laura, who lets out a small yelped, “Eek!” and flops face-first in the field. Laura’s backpack goes flying, with Carmilla landing right on top of her.

Carmilla gets the wind knocked out of her and tries to regain her bearings, but Laura groans underneath her. Carmilla feels Laura’s hand flying to the side where her wound is. Her eyes widen as she rolls off Laura.

 

“Shit! Are you okay?”

Laura winces and sucks in a breath as she lifts her shirt to check. “Yup! Stitches still intact,” she says with a smile.

Carmilla stares at her in shock and barely registers Laura scrambling to her feet.

“Come on, Carm! We can’t miss this!” Laura grabs her backpack and starts running again.

Eventually they’re in the middle of the field and Laura squints up into the night sky. She checks her watch and excitedly tugs at Carmilla’s arm, dropping her backpack.

“ _What?_ What is it that’s worth you running like a maniac with a gunshot wound?” Carmilla demands, chuckling at Laura’s enthusiasm.

Laura points up with a smug grin. Carmilla glances at the sky and her mouth drops open. She had been so intent on running after Laura she didn’t even notice.

 

“The northern lights,” Carmilla gasps. “I’ve never… I always wanted to see them, but…”

“But the city lights got in the way,” Laura finishes. “Mattie told me.”

Carmilla’s eyes widen. “Mattie?”

Laura giggles and opens her backpack, pulling out a large picnic blanket and two smaller ones. “Let’s get comfy first, yeah?”

Laura’s breathing is slightly labored and Carmilla helps her out.  It’s Laura’s first night out of the house after coming home from the hospital for bed rest, so she’s still moving a bit slowly–– except for the run from the car to the field.

 

Laura slowly settles on the blanket with a grunt and Carmilla sits next to her, careful to give her some space. She briefly considers asking Laura if she’s okay and even opens her mouth to do it, but closes it. If she were in serious pain, then Carmilla would trust her to say something. Laura notices and gives her a grateful smile.

“So. Mattie.” Laura clears her throat and brings out two thermoses of hot chocolate, handing one to Carmilla. “She dropped by the house the other day on behalf of your mother because they knew that my dad would probably shoot Lilita Morgan if she requested to see me.”

Carmilla chuckles and takes a sip of her hot chocolate.

“Mattie came to extend your mother’s gratitude for saving your life and, uhm… there was some stuff about making you happy, but it sounded really weird coz it was said with this totally uncaring and cold tone that basically sounded like she was telling me that she bought me a really cute hamster and then planned to throw it on the floor in front of me and stomp on it––”

Carmilla starts laughing and Laura blushes.

“­­––But I digress. Anyway, she told me when you were little, you always asked about these northern lights but the light pollution blocked them out and pointed out that they’d be visible here tonight.” Laura gestures around them. “And here we are.”

 

Carmilla leans over and carefully kisses Laura on the cheek. Both of their injuries have healed nicely, except for Laura’s gunshot wound. They wrap the blankets around themselves, sharing them as Laura is tucked into Carmilla’s side.

Carmilla looks up at the lights in the sky and they stay in a comfortable silence for half an hour.

 

Eventually Laura’s phone rings and they both jump. She answers it. “Hey, dad. … Yup, we’re out here and she loves it. …Mmhmm, I feel fine. …Okay, thanks.” Laura swallows hard. “I love you.”

Carmilla looks over and the smile that slowly stretches over Laura’s face indicates that her sentiment was reciprocated. Laura hangs up her phone and snuggles closer.

“Your father knows we’re out here?”

Laura hums in response. “He _may_ have ordered the cops that are supposed to be patrolling this area to take the night off.”

Carmilla’s mouth drops open. “What?”

Laura giggles. “He likes you, Carm. Maybe as much as your mother likes me.”

Carmilla has to laugh at that.

 

“You’re a cheater,” Carmilla teases. “We agreed that since we missed Christmas with the ‘being kidnapped and everything,’ we wouldn’t do any presents...”

Laura pulls away a bit and stares at Carmilla. “I didn’t cheat!”

“You got me two presents.”

Laura bunches up her face. “I did?”

“Well, bringing me out here to see the northern lights,” Carmilla explains. “And not dying. That was also a pretty nice present.”

Laura chuckles. “Those don’t count, Carm.”

“I dunno, they count to me, Laura. Especially that second one.” Carmilla averts her gaze and chews her lip.

Laura fully pulls away now so she’s completely facing Carmilla and gently nudges her. “Hey. You okay?”

 

Carmilla lets out a small laugh and meets her eyes again. “You know how, after our monthiversary, you said to me that I make life feel precious?”

Laura nods.

“And I agreed with you?”

Laura nods again.

“I lied.”

Laura furrows her eyebrows together and pouts, but remains silent, making herself patient to let Carmilla say what she needs to say.

“I don’t feel that way.” Carmilla swallows hard. “You don’t make life feel precious. You…”

She sighs and runs a hand through her hair.

 

“When we got arrested and I was sitting in the back of that cop car, thinking you were gonna get off scot-free while I got the blame because–– hey, it was my idea and your dad’s the _chief deputy_ … And you just opened the darn car door and were just so willing to take the fall with me without a second thought…”

Carmilla gives Laura a watery smile.

“I just _knew_ I loved you.” Carmilla swallows hard again and takes a deep breath. “Because it was like you came into my life one night and offered me an entire galaxy… when I wasn’t even sure I deserved a single planet.”

Laura’s eyes widen and her mouth opens slightly. “Carm…”

“Laura, you don’t make life feel precious. You make all of existence feel precious,” Carmilla finishes, gesturing around her.

 

Laura leans forward and captures Carmilla’s lips in a kiss. It’s warm and sweet and gentle, and says so much more than her rambling words ever could.

There’s some fireworks in the background and they both pull apart, startled.

“Guess it’s midnight,” Carmilla whispers, chuckling.

Laura nods with a giggle. “Happy New Year, Carm.”

Carmilla leans forward and gives her a shorter kiss this time. “Happy New Year, Laura.”

Laura reaches into her bag and pulls out a small, framed, crudely-drawn cartoon.

 

Carmilla laughs. “Oh, you didn’t.”

Laura grins at their doodle from their first class together, of two girls staring at the starry night together. “I guess it pays to be presumptuous sometimes, huh?”

Carmilla gives her a peck on the cheek. “And sometimes it pays to bury a body in a hole with someone else’s body.”

“Great job, Hollis,” Laura says aloud to herself, grinning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, thanks to everyone who's been commenting regularly and giving me feedback with each chapter. I wrote this fic weeks ago, but edited as I was posting the updates, so it was nice to get a feel for what I was doing right (or wrong).  
> Second of all, this fic has been in the works since July, so I was really nervous about posting it. But you've all been so supportive and amazing!  
> And finally, thank you all so much for reading and giving this story a chance. This has been such an awesome blast and I'll miss these two dorks. I am so, _so_ grateful for all of you!  <3  
> Feel free to [keep in touch](http://romeo-oh-nomeo.tumblr.com/) and, as always-- stay awesome!


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